Heartbeat Vs. Heartbeat (Friday Videos)

Who has the better Heartbeat song and video:

Don Johnson



or The Fray?



This is a very difficult decision, so take your time to consider the options.

Happy Groundhog Day From G-Hog

I don't care if I used this video 4+ years ago or that the video doesn't seem to have sound anymore. Pretend like you're seeing possible Oscar-winner The Artist.

Anyway, on behalf of G-Hog and that other Pennsylvania groundhog, have a Happy Groundhog Day!



Next year in Punxsutawney!

Row, Row, Row Your Boat's Dark Side

You're familiar with the nursery rhyme Row, Row, Row Your Boat, right? If not (and seriously, how can you not know this song?), here are the lyrics:

Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.

Although the song is a bit repetitive, it's a nice and calm song for kids. However, according to this video, there's a second verse that's a little darker.



In case you're unable to view the video, the second verse is:

Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
If you see a crocodile,
don't forget to scream.

What the heck? That is not a calming or fun song for young children. Imagine that you're taking a nice relaxing trip on your boat down a stream like a dream. Good times! Then, there's a crocodile? Why is there a crocodile? It's not a friendly crocodile either. It's a crocodile that makes you want to scream.

Moral of the story: Despite the cute cartoons (though the kids' eyes are freaky), I'm not showing this video to my kid.

Trivia Tuesday

I've mentioned my love of Sporcle at least once or twice. This week, we have three quizzes from the second best website in the world:

1. Name the Pittsburgh Pirates opening day starting line-up from 1991-2010 (15 minutes).

I scored a 109 out of 180 (77th percentile). Interestingly, my best years were 1991 & 1992 where I got 8 of 9 correct, but my worst year was 1995 (only 3 right answers).

2. Name the state(s) which fall into each of the miscellaneous categories (4 minutes)

18 of 30 for me on this one.

3. Name the artists who spent the most total weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from 2000-2009 (5 minutes)

I scored an 11 of 20.

Take these Sporcle quizzes and share your results in the comments section below. Good luck!

The Gift Certificate Story

When I lived in Columbus, Ohio at the turn of the century, the head of the organization where I worked gave me and my colleagues a $25 gift certificate to Columbus City Center. I worked at that particular organization for two years meaning that I received two $25 gift certificates. Between working several jobs and going to graduate school, I never made it to the mall before I left Columbus in 2001. Although I visited Columbus a few times since I moved to DC, I never made it to Columbus City Center. Of course, I also didn’t bring the gift certificate with me since it only seemed to appear when I packed before moving to a new place. Columbus City Center closed in 2009.

When I rediscovered the gift certificates last year, I noticed a card stating that “we will be happy to honor the enclosed gift certificate at any of these Taubman managed shopping centers.” It turns out that one of those Taubman shopping centers is in Northern Virginia. Score! Unfortunately, there was a note on the gift certificates stating that after three years of inactivity, 40 cents would be taken off the gift certificate per month. By my calculation, I would have needed to pay the mall in order to use the gift certificates.

Recently, I visited the Northern Virginia mall and took the gift certificates to customer service. They had no idea what to do with these paper gift certificates, so they had to take it to the important people upstairs (wherever that is). When I returned about 45 minutes later, the mall informed me that they accepted the gift certificates, but that I would need to exchange them with the current plastic gift cards. Although there was a $2.95 service fee to set up the gift card, I now have a $47.05 gift card to a local mall. Just think about how many slices of Sbarro pizza I can get with $47.05!

23 Foods That Keep You Young

For some reason, there is a copy of Redbook magazine, featuring the lovely Kate Beckinsale on the cover with an article and pictures inside, in my home. Let me rephrase this. We didn’t buy the magazine, but a friend that subscribes to Redbook gave us this copy. That clears things up!

Anyway, the magazine cover includes the heading “23 Foods That Keep You Young.” The corresponding article lists foods such as apples, bananas, beans, berries, cabbage, canned salmon, kale, kiwi, oatmeal, papaya, spinach, whole grains, and yogurt. I don’t think the list even includes 23 foods. Nevertheless, I disagree with this list and decided to put together my own list of 23 foods that keep you young.

Hershey’s Chocolate Bar, Graham Cracker & Marshmallows – This was probably the only time during your adolescence when you were permitted to place a food item on a stick and then place the stick in fire. Sure, you usually burned the marshmallow or didn’t get it close to the fire, but you helped create AND COOK delicious s’mores. Making and then eating s’mores definitely keeps you young.



Popcorn – I’m not referring to microwave popcorn where a potential disaster awaits if you place the bag down instead of up or up instead of down. I’m talking popcorn out of a popcorn machine. Ground Round used to give free popcorn to every table. Movie theaters where you can add your own butter also gave away free popcorn (okay, it wasn’t actually free but it was significantly cheaper back in the day). A local video rental store used to have free popcorn for all of its customers. My dad occasionally stopped into the store asking if a movie was available even though he knew it hadn’t come out on video yet just so he could pick up some popcorn. Maybe that’s why the store went out of business! Anyway, this just proves that popcorn keeps you young.

Peanuts and Cracker Jack – Yes, this is 100% because of the song, although I don’t think I ever had these at the same time at a baseball game.

Orange Slices – We used to get orange slices as a halftime snack during soccer games. Yummy (and a rare healthy selection on this list)!

Nerds, Pop Rocks, Fruit Roll-Ups, Gobstoppers, Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum & Kool-Aid – You’ll feel like a kid if you eat or drink any of these.



Matzo Ball Soup and Cherokee Red Pop (or soda for those of you who refer to soft drinks incorrectly) – I used to have this combination regularly at Rhoda’s in Squirrel Hill as a kid.

Twinkies – Someone please make sure that Hostess doesn’t go bankrupt and can still produce these wonderful treats.

Peeps – You just feel young seeing this food. Plus, there’s a diorama contest dedicated to the joy of Peeps!

Lucky Charms – They’re magically delicious!

Jello Mold – My grandmother used to make these for nearly every family occasion. It never disappointed.



Apples & Honey – Look, I agree with Redbook on apples! I hope that they dip their apples in honey. Sure, I only do this once a year on Rosh Hashanah, but it’s still fun and keeps me young.

Hot Dog & Fries from The O – Arguably the least healthy food option of my list, but going to the O reminds me of being a kid again when I went with my family. I’m still upset that they ran out of beef hot dogs during my last visit.

So what foods keep you young?

Where In The World Is Jerome Bettis?

Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis retired from the NFL after winning Super Bowl XL in February 2006. Although he worked on NBC’s Football Night in America for a few years, have you wondered what Bettis is up to these days? Let’s take a look:

For starters, Jerome Bettis remains on the small screen by helping sell Papa John’s pizza with Peyton Manning. [The Business Journal]



Bettis will appear on NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are,” a show that traces the family trees of celebrities including Rob Lowe, Helen Hunt, Martin Sheen, and (what do you know) Jerome Bettis! Season three debuts in February. [NBC]

He also continued to star in the Jerome Bettis Show during the NFL season on Pittsburgh’s NBC station. [WPXI]

Plus, it looks like Bettis promotes Orient Watches (like me) [PSAMP]



Bettis became involved in health issues and politics over the past year. First, he worked with Dick’s Sporting Goods to promote concussion tests for youth athletes. [ABC News]

Recently, Bettis visited DC (he didn’t call me!) and met with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Representatives Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania and John Dingell and John Conyers of Michigan regarding clear air and the EPA’s Maximum Achievable Control Technology rule to enact strict clear air requirements. However, we learned that he’s not going to run for office. [Politico]

“I’ve never gotten the request to run,” Bettis said. “I don’t know if I could do it. I think it’s difficult, and I applaud the job that they do, because obviously it’s not easy. You have your constituents to reach out to and be accountable. … For me, the problem is, with football, it’s easy: You win or you lose. You give 110 percent every time, and that’s it. But in politics, sometimes there’s not a clear winner and not a clear loser. There’s a lot of gray. So I’ve lived in a world of black and white, and politics, unfortunately, there’s a give and a take. … It’s just an interesting dynamic that I’m not used to.”

Through this work, he filmed this commercial [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]



The Bus has traveled the world during this football season. He went to London to promote the NFL game there in October. [ESPN]

He also traveled to Aledo, Texas to deliver the 2011-12 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year trophy to RB Johnathan Gray, a University of Texas recruit. I’m not sure why Bettis felt the need to tackle Gray though. [ESPN] (The video didn't seem to work here, so you'll have to click on the ESPN link to see what I'm writing about.)

He also went all the way to Panera in Wilkins and the Homestead Waterfront as part of a meet-and-greet. Panera donated $5 to The Bus Stops Here Foundation in the names of those who attended. [Peters Patch]

When I started the “Where is Jerome Bettis” posts a few years ago, I noted the numerous comparisons made to Bettis. Since he’s been out of the league, for about six years, though, these comparisons aren’t as frequent.

With that written, Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio compared Iowa RB Marcus Coker to Bettis. [Grand Rapids Press]

Plus, CBS’ Gary Danielson referred to Alabama RB Trent Richardson as a faster Jerome Bettis. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]

Bettis still makes the media rounds too. He participated in an online chat on ESPN. Dan Gigler of Blog ‘N’ Gold scored an interview with The Bus as did Mike Bires of the Beaver County Times. Maybe next year, I'll score an interview!

Oh, Bettis also stays busy with his foundation and was recently named an NFL Hall of Fame finalist.

For more of the annual Where is Jerome Bettis series, click here.

Trivia Tuesday: Islands in the Stream

Welcome to a new edition of Trivia Tuesday. Your challenge this week is to name the nation to which the following island or archipelago belong. This could be difficult, so I may include the list of 10 countries a little later if folks are struggling. There is also a bonus question below.

1. Canary Islands

2. Azores

3. Aruba

4. Galapagos Islands

5. Svalbard

6. Aleutian Islands

7. Cayman Islands

8. Greenland

9. Zanzibar

10. Chatham Islands

Bonus: In last night’s Australian Open Quarterfinals, #1 seed Caroline Wozniacki lost to the 11th-seed Kim Clijsters. Meanwhile, on the men’s side, #3 Roger Federer defeated Juan Martin del Potro, the 11th seed. Why is it that the 11th seed faced the #1 seed on the women’s side but the #3 seed on the men’s side? Shouldn’t the brackets be set up the same?


As always please leave your answers in the comments section below, and do not use the internet for assistance. Good luck!

This quiz is courtesy of the fine folks at Stump Trivia.

Schadenfreude Again

Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens on their AFC Championship win according to NBC station WBAL in Baltimore!



Wait, the Ravens lost Sunday? In that case, let's share this wonderful picture taken by The Washington Post's Jonathan Newton on January 13, 2007:



I have used this picture of a distraught Baltimore Ravens fan being consoled by his son after his entire section cleared out as the Sean's Ramblings profile picture/avatar for 5 years now. This picture seems appropriate and relevant again after yesterday’s New England Patriots victory over the Ravens. Yes, this picture still makes me smile, and yes, I am still a terrible person.

I just don’t like the Baltimore Ravens, and I really don’t want to get into the psychological reasons behind my dislike of Ravens today. I'm just happy with the result of yesterday's game.

Now, time to root against the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

h/t Nick for the WBAL screen grab.

Friday Videos

Between writing my State of the Ramblings and sharing thoughts about a stolen tire, a $10 haircut, and Jackee Harry, it's been a busy past week or two here at Sean's Ramblings. Therefore, let's end this week with some music.

Although I'm not a fan of the video, Jessie J writes (or at least performs) a catchy song called Domino.



I just can't pass up posting Alex Ovechkin rapping in Russian. I have no idea what anyone says, but the guy who is not Ovie definitely includes a line about Ali, Tiger, Michael Jordan, Mike Tyson and Bruce Lee, all well-known Russian athlets.



Puck Daddy has much more on this as well as a translation of Ovie's verse.

My Jackee Harry Experience

Although I don’t mention it very often here, I’m a part of the Twitter universe. When I hit 226 followers, I posted the following Tweet:



@getfreshdesigns retweeted my clever message and several hours later, I saw this message on Twitter.



That’s right, Jackee Harry, the Emmy award winning actress of 227, was my 227th follower. Ms. Harry followed me on Twitter along with Pink, Tim Tebow, Taylor Dayne and Missy Elliott. I can definitely see the similarities between all of us.

Sadly, Ms. Harry stopped following me a few days later. I guess she didn’t appreciate all of my Tweets about the Steelers. Therefore, I'm back on 226 followers. Please feel free to follow me on Twitter and be my new 227th (or 228th) follower.

State of the Ramblings

I recently passed the seventh birthday/anniversary of writing Sean’s Ramblings which must be about 70 in blog years. Since I’m an old man in the blog world, please bear with me as I rant a little. Get off my lawn!



I feel like I’m the last of a dying breed. There just doesn’t seem to be many personal blogs these days that are updated regularly. When I started Sean’s Ramblings and during the first few years of my blog’s existence, I read dozens of personal blogs updated daily, many that I discovered through DC Blogs. Sadly, most of these blogs are now retired or updated only occasionally. I believe that there are several reasons for this. First, it can be difficult and time-consuming writing a blog. Starting a blog is fun and exciting but keeping your energy up writing post after post after post is hard especially if you aren’t receiving many comments or page views. Second, sometimes you run out of items to write about. There have been amazing blogs that spent significant time talking about the dating scene or television shows. After someone gets into a serious relationship or the TV show ends, there’s not much else to discuss.

Personally, I think Twitter has significantly contributed to the decline of personal blogs. It’s so much easier typing 140 characters that can be published instantly rather than writing a multi-paragraph post and scheduling the post to be published the following day. So with that, rant over. I’m proud to have longevity as a blogger and appreciate the other bloggers out there that have provided me countless hours of entertainment over the years.


(Get it...Slevin for Seven!)

Since this is the annual State of the Ramblings, let’s briefly look back at the past year. Obviously, the most significant, life-changing event from the past twelve months was winning the Ted Marshall TV death pool. I guess becoming a new father is a close second.

I’m happy that I’ve chronicled some of the experiences being a new father, but I wanted to make sure that this didn’t turn into a fatherhood blog. With that written, my first post after my child was born is one of my favorite things I’ve written in the history of Sean’s Ramblings, and I love reading it again as well as going through other fatherhood posts.

Other highlights from this year was interviewing author, amazing blogger and friend Sarah Wendell after her release of Everything I Know about Love, I Learned from Romance Novels and interviewing the founder of Steeler Nation Israel. I reviewed a documentary about Canadian pop music in the 1990s and admitted to a childhood crush on Debbie Gibson. I found that there are other Sean’s Ramblings (or should that be Seans’ Ramblings) and posed the question about whether gay marriage could pass in Virginia. Even though I haven’t lived in Pittsburgh in many years, my hometown city is still a central part of my life. Besides writing about Pittsburgh sports (including the third annual Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament), I posted information about Pittsburgh being the center of rap/hip-hop universe and the home of Indian actresses.


(This picture of the Gilligan's Island cast has nothing do with anything in the post other than there being seven characters to match the seven years of this blog.)

As for the next twelve months, I don’t anticipate any changes to Sean’s Ramblings. With the Presidential election this year, I may have a few more political posts than usual, but otherwise, you can enjoy the same in-depth analysis and breaking news stories that you always do. That, or more about Pittsburgh sports, bad haircuts, Trivia Tuesdays, Metro experiences and ideally, another opportunity to have free food for a year.

Thanks again to everyone for reading and commenting this year and over the past 7 years. It’s amazing that Sean’s Ramblings has lasted this long, and I wouldn’t continue writing without your support.

Trivia Tuesday: Disney Villains

Let’s get right to the questions. Based on the names of the primary villains below, your challenge is to name the Disney movie.

1. Scar

2. Man

3. Charles Muntz

4. Ursula

5. Sid

6. Jafar

7. Stomboli

8. Madam Min

9. Hopper

10. Curella de Vil

As always please leave your answers in the comments section below, and do not use the internet for assistance. Good luck!

This quiz is courtesy of the fine folks at Stump Trivia.

The $10 Haircut

Remember my dilemma last week regarding the unlicensed barber shop? Well, I tried it over the weekend and wanted to share the results. Let’s start with the positive.

- I enjoyed the music selection of 90s hits including Mr. Jones, Wonderwall, and an ‘N Sync song that I can’t get out my head. While I can do without Aerosmith’s Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing and whatever Backstreet Boys song they played (Is Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely the name of one of their songs?), overall, the music was a plus.

- They gave me a hot towel at the completion of the haircut. Hot towels should be used and available in any personal and professional situation. They also provided a razor shave of the back of my neck and sideburns. I always think this is cool even if these razors could potentially cause lots of bleeding.

- I was treated very well and received excellent personal attention. There was my primary male barber and another woman who occasionally assisted. The female barber may have been the owner or it was a student-teacher type relationship where she was making sure he was doing everything was correctly.

- The entire haircut was $10.

Sounds like a wonderful experience, right? Well, here’s the negative:



This is a picture of the back of my head with a random gray stripe at the bottom. Perhaps the word “trim” was lost in translation. I don’t think my hair has been this short since my birth. Fortunately, I expect the hair to grow back...and then I guess I'll go back to Hair Cuttery for my next haircut.