I’m trying to get to your “requests” as soon as I can, readers, but there are so many it’s hard to keep up. Happily, Tanya — today we will be able to meet the one you posed a few weeks ago in your note:
Dear Owl Chatter,
My husband and I love your blog. Phil cracks us up. Do you think you could find a video of snowmen in England dancing the Hokey Pokey? If it could include one snowman playing a musical instrument with his nose that would be good, but it’s not necessary.
Thanks!
Tanya Shakapopskov
Well, TS, your wait is over (see below). In fact, HOKEY POKEY was one of the theme answers in the puzzle today. The clue was: “Participation dance in which you ‘turn yourself around.’” And the theme was WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT. (It’s a reference to the line in the song — “and that’s what IT’S all about”)
To no surprise, Rex exploded, as follows:
Wow, I never realized how completely nonsensical that HOKEY POKEY song is before. What the hell is “It” ever referring to? All the left hand / right hand nonsense? But no, because you do the left hand right hand nonsense, and then you “do the HOKEY POKEY and you turn yourself around.” But The Lyrics Never Describe That Part (i.e. exactly what “do the HOKEY POKEY” means), and also, how can “it” refer to HOKEY POKEY, when “you do the HOKEY POKEY and you turn yourself around / And that’s what it’s all about”? So … the HOKEY POKEY is “about” the HOKEY POKEY? And we teach children this rhyme? No wonder my students have trouble with pronoun usage. Pronouns need clear antecedents / referents! The “it” in the HOKEY POKEY song has no idea what it (!) is pointing to. Thank you for attending my new segment, “Rex Parker Critiques Children’s Rhymes,” join me next time for a thorough take down of “E-I-E-I-O” (“No consonants!? Unlikely …”).
[BTW, the Hokey Pokey is known as the Hokey Cokey in England, Ireland, the Caribbean, and parts of Australia — I don’t know which parts, so just be careful.]
Oh, Tanya — almost forgot your request! (Love the “beginner’s” Rubik’s cube at the end.)
The other two answers for the “what IT’s all about” theme were SCARY CLOWN: What Stephen King’s book “It” is about, and COMPUTER SYSTEMS: I. T. (get it?). Pretty clever.
egs suggested another one could be: “Sex in the road, according to the Beatles.” For you young ‘uns, that’s a reference to their song “Why Don’t We Do IT in the Road?”
McCartney wrote the song after witnessing two monkeys enjoying each other “in the road” in India. He found it liberating. It must have been when the Fab Four were starting to fray because Lennon was miffed that Paul didn’t ask him to record it with him. Paul shot back that Lennon did the same to him on “Julia” and “Revolution #9.”
Mom! He started it!
At 30D, the clue was “One may dominate a conversation,” and the answer was TALKAHOLIC. Rex was very dismissive of it, but I took issue with him via a comment I posted. Here’s Rex:
TALKAHOLIC, ugh, I would’ve shut my computer right there if I weren’t contractually obligated to go on. Just a ridiculous non-word. What’s next, GUACAHOLIC?! (mmmm, guacaholism …). Your acceptable punny -aholic prefixes are SHOP- and CHOC-. TALKAHOLIC is gratingly cutesy and not really used. Never seen it. Never heard it. If people don’t use it, you don’t use it, that’s the rule.
But he’s wrong about that. I posted:
There is a real condition in which people can’t stop talking. I’ve met someone like that — you don’t want to be near them. We used to joke that her husband must be deaf. (He wasn’t. In fact he was a very nice guy.) Another joke is they seek help from On and On Anon. But it’s serious. Wikipedia calls it “compulsive talking” or “talkaholism.” Studies of college students show about 5% are talkaholics.
Reminded me of a New Yorker cartoon I may have referenced before. Two guys at a bar, and one says to the other: “I’m like a workaholic, but with alcohol.”
Soul singer Bridges, was LEON. Anybody hear of him? Word hadn’t reached me under my rock. His real name is Todd Michael Bridges and I don’t know where the Leon came from. He’s 34, born in Atlanta and raised in Ft. Worth. He’s quite successful and performed at The White House for the Obamas.
Bridges’s style is primarily soul, but resembling 1960s rhythm and blues. WSJ described him as a “throwback to ’60s-soul a la Otis Redding and Sam Cooke.” He performs in vintage clothing; Fort Worth Weekly described him as someone whose “music sounds like he looks.”
“I’ll send you a silver bird, baby.”
If I may qvell a bit, this drawing is by Granddaughter #1 (Lianna). It’s one of her OCs — original characters. She’s on the creative side of the family.
Big news in Crossworld! Favorite cookie OREO is getting two new flavors which should be in stores on Monday (3/4). The first is Oreo Dirt Cake: the company’s take on the nostalgic mud-pie dessert that reminds people of childhood. [Except for me. For me, cholent reminds me of childhood.]
On the outside, it features the classic chocolate cookie with gummy worm-inspired sprinkles on top; and on the inside, it’s got a layer of brownie-flavored creme atop a layer of chocolate creme with Oreo wafer crumb.
The second new flavor is Oreo Thins Tiramisu. The classic thin cookie is stuffed with a layer of tiramisu-flavored creme filling.
Last December the company introduced Oreo’s Black and White cookies as well as (finally!) a gluten-free Oreo, both of which are golden not chocolate. Also, a peanut-butter flavored Cakester Oreo — the “cakesters” have soft (cakey) cookie parts instead of the usual.
Oy, that’s enough nonsense for now. More tomorrow!
The Wellington Files 