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1. We’re getting some great comments under this morning’s spelling bee quiz. I hope more former spelling prodigies come out of the woodwork. But spelling wasn’t the only quirky way to separate yourself from your grade school classmates. Perhaps you dominated the National Geography Bee. Or won a gold medal in gymnastics at the Junior Olympics. Or were a world class math-lete. Or starred in a Crispy Critters cereal commercial. (They were indubitably delicious.) What secret talent from your youth have you been hiding?
2. Yesterday we posted an article about people fired for blogging. Got any good stories about getting canned?
3. Which TV show’s cancellation would upset you most right now?
4. Allison Keene, the keeper of the Weekend Links, is on vacation. If you’ve stumbled across anything notable this week, help me out. Shameless self promotion is highly encouraged (links to your Flickr photos, YouTube videos, blog entries, etc.) If you omit the ‘http://www’ part, you should be allowed to leave links in the comments. If not, you can send them to flossylinks@gmail.com. Have a great weekend!
[See transcripts of previous Friday Happy Hours]
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Just wanted to mention that my current Captcha is “this Pirate.”
I would almost advocate three word Captchas, just for the prospect of even stranger combinations.
posted by Ira on 5-30-2008 at 12:58 pm
1. I think when I was in third or fourth grade, I lost our spelling bee by spelling the word millionaire wrong. I’ll never forget how that word is spelled….
2. A large “family-owned” company bought the company I worked for and cleaned house one day and fired every manager. Funny thing was, I wasn’t in management, but got fired too. Guess I knew too much or they knew I did my bosses job for him.
3. LOST. No explanation needed. Deadliest Catch (I KNOW, it’s the same thing all the time, catch the crab, but I love it!) I guess I can’t add Battlestar Galactica since the show is in its final season, but if they stopped it now, I’d be SUPER PISSED OFF. Family Guy…so glad Seth McFarland’s contract got extended. Three Sheets on Mojo, and definitely Top Gear on BBC.
posted by Jamie on 5-30-2008 at 1:08 pm
1. I’m inherently wordy and was cursed with a ridiculously long name (thank goodness for my husband), and as a kid I would fill Big Chief notebooks with anagrams and various-length word lists from my name. Favorite that I can remember: adrenaline mule. I’ve moved on, though, and now I only write lists for everything else.
2. I have yet to be fired for blogging; I don’t do it at work, though, and no one reads anything I write anyway. I believe I’m safe for now.
3. I don’t watch enough TV to feel very strongly about many shows. But I may cry when House is over.
4. Shameless Plug Alert!! adrienne.blog.com
posted by adrienne on 5-30-2008 at 1:15 pm
3.) still disappointed that Arrested Development was cancelled. …jerks.
posted by susan on 5-30-2008 at 1:20 pm
I’d be really upset if The Big Bang Theory got cancelled…it’s the only sitcom I watch anymore. I love those nerds.
posted by Cat on 5-30-2008 at 1:23 pm
1. In 5th grade I lost the spelling bee on the word “anniversary”. No talents for me, unfortunately.
3. TOP CHEF. It’s the only thing I watch consistently. I’d be very upset if it got canceled!
posted by Laura on 5-30-2008 at 1:36 pm
1. I used to be able to do a killer duck call as a young’in.
3. How I Met Your Mother… best show ever, believe me.
posted by Elizabeth on 5-30-2008 at 1:41 pm
I got to be “fire chief for a day” in 3rd grade. Got on the evening news, hung onto a fire hose, wore a big helmet and rode in a truck. it was a ton of fun.
I went in for a meeting one friday afternoon, expecting it to be my 1 year evaluation, and instead I got fired, no notice, here’s a box for your stuff. it was awful.
Mythbusters is pretty much the awesomest show of all time. I would also be ticked if Project Runway, Top Chef, or House went away.
posted by jenny on 5-30-2008 at 1:45 pm
1) I was both a school spelling bee champ and a gold medal gymnast! Alas, once i got to the citywide spelling bee I bumbled the word “mountain” somehow. Almost 20 years later and my parents STILL comment on how I tried to spell it “mountian”… STILL. And I don’t remember what age I was, but I was once a CT State Bars Champion for level 8 gymnastics. Woot. Of course that was just in my age group and admitted almost everyone else fell or made some huge mistake. But I still have the medal.
3) TV show’s cancellation that would most bother me would have been Lost til last night. Last night was so awesome IMO that I actually said mid-show, it could end now and I’d be happy.
posted by RBug on 5-30-2008 at 1:45 pm
1. I could speak like Linda Blair in the Exorcist when I was four. My parents used to show it off at family events.
3. Battlestar Galactica (which is an interesting one seeing as it’s the last season).
posted by Nell on 5-30-2008 at 1:49 pm
1.) I remember being so nervous for spelling bees that i coudln’t spell the simplest of words, so it wasn’t a very fair judgement of my skills.
2.)Haven’t been fired for blogging, maybe thats because I simply DON’T!
3.)what shows wouldn’t I miss? I watch dumb reality shows like Deadliest catch, The Real Housewives, Jon and kate + 8, etc…they’re all the same all the time, but I love them….but I would be PISSED if Grey’s anatomy or Desperate Housewives was cancelled!
4.)I look to this site for fun links…why would I want to go searching for them?
posted by partitioncoefficient on 5-30-2008 at 1:54 pm
1. When I was in kindergarten I knew nearly every song from Air Supply’s Greatest Hits from memory.
3. I would cry like a little girl if they canceled The Big Bang Theory on CBS.
4. This plug isn’t completely shameless, as I’m kind of shy, but plenty of people have stumbled upon my blog as a result of typing “things to do while bored” into Google.
It would make my day if I helped to play a role in your personal amusement & procrastination. =)
http://www.mariedysangco.com
posted by Marie on 5-30-2008 at 2:06 pm
wow susan you sounded just like a friend of mine who adds jerks to everything…..lol…but i totally agree, arrested development should have NEVER been cancelled
posted by oneita on 5-30-2008 at 2:13 pm
1. Apparently. I was really good at dancing as a kid. i never took lessons, but people kept asking me if I was (I thought I was just flailing around randomly, haha)
3. Scrubs, Mythbusters, and Family Guy…again.
4. shameless plug for some awesome musicians I’ve found while trolling the internets: just search goole video for ‘Klein Four Group’ for an awesomely nerdy love song based on math. Search ‘Ukulele orchestra of the UK’ a great version of ‘Smells like teen spirit’. and search ‘Facebook stalking’ for a hilarious song by IU’s Straight No Chaser.
posted by heather on 5-30-2008 at 2:23 pm
1) I can ride a unicycle. Just forward, but still I can do it. I haven’t ridden it since high school, so it should count.
2) Once I went to a place I worked without the required belt. As I walked in, I told my manager I had forgotten and I would go home and grab it if he needed. He yelled in not so nice terms that I better go home and get it. After about an hour of talking/yelling at my mom about how much I hated the job, she told me to quit. So I went in and asked the manager if I could talk to him. I said that I didn’t think I could work there anymore because he didn’t respect me, my coworkers or the customers. He told me to **** myself. I said, this is what I am talking about. And as I walked out, he yelled, in front of everyone in the resturant, “get the **** out of my store.” There was more cursing from him during the firing/walking out, but that is the clean version.
3) I would miss “How I Met Your Mother.” It has been slightly uneven this year. But it is still funny and sweet beyond control.
posted by Scott on 5-30-2008 at 2:31 pm
4. I don’t know if you will find it fun, but I waste lots of time on this website:
http://www.eatpoopucat.com.
It has a weird title, but it’s basically an online ‘telephone’ game. someone writes a sentence, then someone else draws a picture based on that sentence. Then someone sees only that picture and writes a sentence based on the picture, and so on.
posted by Jenny on 5-30-2008 at 2:50 pm
1. In 5th grade I lost a trip to the state Bee by misspelling “woebegoneness”
The girl that beat me won by spelling “whippersnapper” I know the words are random but come on that is way easier!! Yeah I’m still bitter…
Another spelling bee I lost by spelling “irruption” as “eruption” I even asked for the definition and it is almost the exact same as eruption, how was I supposed to know?
3. 30 Rock. I tell all my friends to watch it so that it won’t get cancelled. It’s fantastic.
posted by Kim on 5-30-2008 at 3:28 pm
1. I’m talentless
2. In my first job, I thought I was “paying my dues” and being loyal by constantly taking the blame for my boss’s mistakes. Got fired, but learned a valuable life lesson.
In my third job, I put my life lesson to work. I refused to take the blame for anyone else’s incompetence. Well, one day one of the VP’s comes around and starts up with me. I told him “f*ck you, I’m not taking the blame for your shitty decisions” which, predictably, lead to my firing.
3. Real Time w/ Bill Maher (it would be like deja vu)
posted by Florida on 5-30-2008 at 4:19 pm
3) Scrubs, Lost, Heroes. On a related note, I live in England right now and have British cable (obviously). Some of the stations really publicize American shows that are going to premiere soon. The only problem is that they’ve already been cancelled in America! Some examples: The Big Bang Theory, and Commander in Chief (I think it was cancelled). Don’t they know it was cancelled in America before they play it a year later on their station?
posted by Tricia on 5-30-2008 at 4:56 pm
3) LOST (obviously)….I’m still bummed about Freaks and Geeks, which was cancelled years and years ago, but I didn’t discover until 2005. I wish somehow they could bring it back, but all the actors are way too old now.
posted by Beth on 5-30-2008 at 5:58 pm
Tricia, I’m guessin the UK is a lot ike NZ in that the British cable stations buy blocks of shows from particular American stations (ABC, CBS etc) in order to get the show they are really after (Ugly Betty, Heroes), and don’t want to waste the shows they’ve purchased.
1. I was quite good in math in grade school – to the point my 5th grade teacher wanted to send me up to 6th grade early. However, because my ‘brilliant’ brother was in 6th grade, my mother wouldn’t allow it so as not to hurt his fragile ego. It all turned out ok anyway.
I also played piano and flute. At the time, I memorized music by either remembering the page and reading it in my mind, or memorizing how my hands looked on the keys. My piano teacher was not fond of either method!
2) Lots! How much time do you have? One of the most memorable is when I was fired overnight. I was working in an accounting firm (tax dept) for one particular senior manager but getting all my work from other managers/partners. For efficiency sake, I asked the head tax partner to move me to the group I received all my work from. Turns out the senior manager I was working for was his best friend, and my request made it seem that he wasn’t doing his job. *oops* They fired me the next morning!
3. Probably Heroes. Maybe even Dexter.
4. I usually contribute, but most of my links these days are coming FROM Mental Floss blogs! If you click on my name, though, it will take you to my blog. Probably not interesting to most, but is a good resource for those considering moving to Wellington, New Zealand!
posted by Dawn on 5-30-2008 at 6:12 pm
1. Young entrepreneur – I set up bike races and charged for entry, the winner got their money back!
2. Never got “canned.” Not that I have time, but I wouldn’t even get fired for blogging; just gotta make yourself indispensable.
3. Another vote for House and Project Runway, and one for Ugly Betty – my must-see shows.
4. If you find yourself with time to spare, my YouTube ID is Us4U2C, *I* think my movies are worth watching ;-)
posted by Kellie on 5-30-2008 at 6:15 pm
I don’t know where else to post it… I’m loving Scripps. “OOH, numnah!” “Nietzschean, that’s a funny word.”
Good times :-D
posted by Kellie on 5-30-2008 at 8:12 pm
1. I actually won a spelling bee in first grade that my mom entered me in spur-of-the-moment at the local mall. I think the dictionaries are still around here somewhere… And one talent I usually don’t spread around? I am really freakin good at making balloon animals. Who knew?
2. Never been fired. Still on my first job. I’m young, yet.
3. The Office. Jon & Kate +8. Mythbusters. Good Eats (gotta love Alton Brown)!
posted by peacefulvalley on 5-30-2008 at 9:00 pm
1. In like the fourth grade, I had a piece of art entered into Pentels International art competition and didn’t know about it, I won 5th place and got sent a really nice certificate and super nice Pentel Art felt tip pens. Oh, and my artwork got to travel the world.
2. I got fired after working at a non fast food fast food company owned Mexican restaurant after my manager told me not to come in that day because they were overstaffed [I got a call that evening (I was at my second job) and was told that I wasn't meeting the needs of the company and that I was fired] by the way that was in a voice mail.. Oh, and my dad fired me from the family business because I refused to go to his fiances wedding shower in a skirt [there was 4ft of snow on the ground..].
3. 30 Rock, Family Guy, and the Simpsons, oh and Mythbusters.
posted by StephanieA on 5-30-2008 at 9:51 pm
1. In the third grade spelling bee, I was the last of two contenders…and lost because I couldn’t spell the word “answer”. I’ve been a word geek ever since. :) I even get Word A Day email.
I didn’t have any secret talents as a kid, but I’ve folded one thousand paper cranes. Not something I share around too liberally.
2. Don’t cancel Supernatural. My life would cease to be worth living. Seriously.
posted by Anna on 5-30-2008 at 10:48 pm
I would definitely be most upset if Doctor Who got cancelled. That would just not be cool. Pushing Daisies would really hurt too.
My fiancé runs two very cool blogs. One (Fandomania) is about geek culture, including tv, movies, video games, and comics. The other (Mechazilla) is about toys, statues, and other collectibles.
fandomania.com
mechazilla.com
posted by Celeste M. on 5-30-2008 at 11:00 pm
1. I can fit 52 green grapes in my mouth without breaking a single one.
2. I’ve never actually been fired from a job, but my brother was fired once for not showing up at his delivery job after a night of too much drinking.
3. Pushing Daisies,
posted by Brian on 5-31-2008 at 8:36 am
1. i won the 6th grade science fair only to be pulled into the office immediately afterwards and accused of cheating (having my parents do it).
2. i’ve yet to be fired but i was witness to a good one. i worked as a chef in a swanky restaurant years ago. one day, another cook came over to use the meat slicer. another cook came over to borrow some vinegar, which was kept in a gallon jug on a shelf under the slicer. he tried to reach around the guy’s legs to get it and spilled it on his shoes. the meat slicing guy lost in and took a handful of ham and shoved it in the guys face. while his vision was obscured by salted meat, he flailed around, dousing his assailant and everything else in balsamic vinegar.
3. probably Conan O’Brien.
4. the band ghost away put out their album siberia as a free download.
http://www.ghost-away.com
its really good. also, as for the shameless self promotion, i made a video for one of the song and painted the album art.
posted by tyler on 5-31-2008 at 12:12 pm
1. I lost the spelling bee in 7th grade for not knowing how to spell “spaghetti” What’s weird is that I was practicing right before we started and the last word I was going to spell before we were called to take our places was “spaghetti”….had I only gotten the chance…
2. Never been fired, have tried to blog but I never keep up with it.
3. I would be pissed if Top Chef was cancelled…and Entourage better be coming back soon…
posted by Sara on 5-31-2008 at 7:26 pm
1. I was Ms. Buddy Poppy and Ms. Loyalty Day when I was a teen. Its a VFW, public speaking thing. And dressing up and being in a parade thing. It was fun and made my grandmother proud and I got lots of money (I bought a car!).
2. I was fired for missing too much work while I was in the hospital. Idiots…
3. While I love shows like The Office and Family Guy, I feel like they’d be just as good in reruns. So, I’d miss Heroes the most if it was cancelled. I can’t watch an episode of that show more than once or twice.
4. Not new, but I’ve gotten back in to postsecret.com and overheardintheoffice.com recently. Love to check those on Monday morning at work.
posted by Heather on 5-31-2008 at 10:56 pm
haha mccarthy daddy is the best captcha yet.
1.um won my schools geography bee.. i cannot spell, i actually plan on people to point out what i may have spelled wrong.
2.Had a boss tell me i could go home the day after a terrible break up and then fired me a week later for ditching work that day.
3.if they never renewed ‘flight of the conchords’ or ‘always sunny in Philadelphia’
posted by Brian on 5-31-2008 at 11:06 pm
1. I can write my name (handwriting) upsidedown and backwards.
2. I was I was!! I had a campus job in college and bloged about my college life in general. I posted a (positive) review of the opera that was about to take place and they found it and accused me of leaking stage secrets. Thing was: the local newspaper had printed something very similar a few days before. When I got called to the head of the Fine Arts department they pulled out a file that had every post printed up and the “bad” things I had said about the University highlighted. I got a long lecture then was fired. Oh yes. That was my 23rd birthday as well.
3. CSI: NY. I would cry. I love Gary Sinise.
4. alluc.org, you can watch all kinds of movies and TV shows free. I don’t think you can download them though.
posted by Joanna on 6-1-2008 at 12:24 am
1. I’m fabulous at standardized tests. I always got pretty good grades,but nothing special. My standardized test scores are and always have been pretty extraordinary.
2. I’m so glad to hear that others would be upset about the cancellation of pushing daisies. I live for that show.
4. shameless self promotion…www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwGU_Zy6LAg
posted by Kelly on 6-1-2008 at 1:33 am
1. I was captain of my high school It’s Academic team — EVEN THOUGH I WAS A GIRL.
2. The engineer of my own destruction … I was working for a startup and the management couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t in the black yet. I did the business-model analysis that proved it would probably NEVER be in the black. Six weeks later the parent company shut us down.
3. Firefly — oops, no, that already happened. Heroes, then.
posted by Liza Jane on 6-2-2008 at 9:56 am
1) When I was in 8th grade, I was recruited and offered scholarships to pitch HIGH SCHOOL softball at a very well-known boarding school.
2) It’s not why I was fired that burns me but when. I was canned 2 days before my wedding!
3) I’d be heartbroken if Curb Your Enthusiasm doesn’t come back. I love LD!
posted by Erin on 6-2-2008 at 10:29 am
1. I won my school’s geography bee in 5th grade and also was captain of the academic team from 7th through 12th grades.
3. Weeds. I love it. And I’ll jump onto that bitter-about-the-cancellation-of-Arrested-Development bandwagon.
posted by Konstantine on 6-2-2008 at 3:26 pm