That’s Entertainment
Do you remember these TV programs? Probably not—they were watched by so few people that they were the first new fall show to get the axe in their respective year. 2018: The Alec Baldwin Show After debuting as a special in March 2018 called Sundays with Alec Baldwin, that fall, ABC brought back the one-on-one […]
These are the singers and bands recently nominated for enshrinement into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…and some bizarre and interesting trivia about them. Rock on! Def Leppard The ‘80s heavy metal / hair metal band (“Photograph,” “Rock of Ages”) misspelled its name on purpose. The name was originally Deaf Leopard, but they got […]
Here’s your first Tooth Fairy fact: She (or he, at the BRI, we’re woke) isn’t real. We hate to be the ones to tell you but it was your parent who put money under your pillow when you lost a tooth. Here’s some more trivia about this beloved, dental-obsessed mythological magical creature. Origin story The […]
If you think music today is weird, think of how many bands and singing groups in pop music history that had names where, after the name of the lead singer was given, the rest didn’t make any sense without a primer. Well, here’s that long lost primer, because what even is a “Shondell,” anyway? Gladys […]
The Simpsons has been on the air for more than 30 years now, and the setting of Springfield has expanded to include literally hundreds of characters. On occasion, the population contracts. Here are some characters no longer on the show…and why. APU NAHASAPEEMAPETILON The discussion has been going on for years, but the idea that […]
Stan Lee passed away this week at the age of 95. As the chief creative mind at Marvel Comics for decades, he helped make comics a viable literary form and a distinctly American contribution to art with near-mythological-level by introducing everyone from Spider-Man to the Avengers to the X-Men to the Fantastic Four to the […]
The Simpsons just started its unprecedented thirtieth season on the air. This one is sure to include some special celebrity guest stars…which is old hat for the series. Here are some stories behind some Simpsons cameos. Leonard Nimoy One of the most famous episodes of The Simpsons is the 1993 installment “Marge Vs. the Monorail.” When Springfield […]
Bohemian Rhapsody, a film about the life of rock legend Freddie Mercury, and his band, Queen, hits theaters soon. Before you see that eye-opener about the group’s impact on music, check out these unbelievable but true facts about Mercury and Queen. Naked bicycling In 1978, Queen released the hit single “Bicycle Race” and filmed a video […]
After you head in after the trick-or-treating and costume parties are over, will you watch one of these fall classics? Addams Family Values In Charles Addams original New Yorker cartoons, the family had no names, so they were created for the Addams Family TV show in the ‘60s. For the dim son, Addams suggested either Pugsley or Pubert. Producers chose […]
Do you play the video game Minecraft? If you don’t, your kids or somebody close to you probably does. Not since Pac-Man has a single video game been this popular. Here’s a look into the origins and impact of this cultural behemoth. (This article was first published in our 31st annual edition, Uncle John’s Actual and […]
Right now, Lady Gaga is dazzling audiences with her first major role in a movie, a remake of A Star is Born, directed by co-star Bradley Cooper. It’s an auspicious first stab at film stardom, unlike these other attempts by pop stars who tried their hand at acting. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band A […]
In which Uncle John corrects widespread grammatical and language abominations. Here are a few celebrity names that you may be pronouncing wrong. Martin Scorsese You can use a pneumonic device with this one to remember that the director’s last name is not pronounced “score-says-he.” When it comes to award nominations, Martin “scores easy.” Demi Lovato […]
Well, according to those celebrities, that is. Sammy Hagar In his 2001 memoir Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock, Van Halen singer and solo star Sammy Hagar (“I Can’t Drive 55”) recounted an encounter with what he believes to be extraterrestrials. While lying in bed as a kid, he looked out the window outside his […]
Here are some shows that ran for many years and became part of TV history. And to think, they were almost canceled right away. Cheers It frequently makes lists of the best TV shows of all time, it won the Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series four times, and it made stars out of Ted […]
For every PlayStation or Nintendo Wii that sells in the tens of millions and generates billions of dollars, plenty of other video game systems enter the market…and then it’s game over. OUYA The OUYA system got to market outside of the system—the creators raised $8.5 million in development cash via crowdfunding website Kickstarter. Units were […]
Those TV shows we love, the ones with beloved and familiar characters we welcome into our homes week after week? They could have been a lot different, had creators gone with their original ideas and instincts. Frasier Fraiser was a smash hit for NBC, running from 1993 to 2004 and winning the Emmy for Best […]
“Rideshare” services like Uber and Lyft have only been around for a few years, but they’ve already become a big part of American culture. Basically privatizing the taxicab industry, individuals sign up to be paid drivers, and people pay a reasonable fee for a ride by using a smartphone app. They also leave stuff behind […]
Not every video game can thrill gamers and sell millions. Here are some titles that hit the “Game Over” screen entirely too quickly. Pac-Man How can the most famous and popular video games of all time land on a list of flops? Because of the limitations of technology in 1982. In the very early 1980s, […]
