Trivia Tuesday: Billion View Club

Last week, See You Again by Wiz Khaifa and Charlie Puth became the 10th video on YouTube to join the Billion View Club. Do you know the other nine? Listed below are the most viewed videos with the gender of the artist and the YouTube publish date. Your challenge is to name the primary artist and song title.

1. Male - July 15, 2012

2. Male (featuring male) - February 19, 2010

3. Female - November 10, 2014

4. Female (featuring male) - February 20, 2014

5. Female - September 5, 2013

6. Female - August 18, 2014

7. Male (featuring a bunch of people; I think all male) - April 11, 2014 (Espanol version)

8. Female - June 11, 2014

9. Male (featuring male) - November 19, 2014

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

Pittsburgh Festival In Washington

Perhaps it's because Celebrate Fairfax is only days away, but I'm getting into the festival mood. I also realize that it's unlikely I'll be able to visit Pittsburgh this summer (this year?) and that makes me a little sad. Therefore, why not put the two together. That's right. I want to create a Pittsburgh festival in the Washington, DC area.

I could worry about the details like location (Dulles Expo Center?), insurance, security, etc., but today, I'm going to be an ideas man. There are thousands of Pittsburgh transplants that live in the Washington area (see the 2008 Steelers game at FedEx Field and the Post-Gazette series detailing Pittsburghers that moved away) and even more if you expand this to Baltimore. Why not celebrate our Pittsburgh-ness and expose the city to the greater Washington DC area?

The first step would be to partner with Visit Pittsburgh, the official tourism office for Pittsburgh. They are the experts on all the great things to do and see in Pittsburgh.

Here is what else this festival should have (some of this is unrealistic but others could definitely work):

- Food: You can't have a Pittsburgh festival without Pittsburgh food. Primanti's sandwiches, Quaker Steak & Lube wings, hot dogs from The O, Potato Patch fries, Peppi's Roethlisburger, pierogies, Eat 'N Park Smiley Cookies, anything from the Oakmont Bakery, Prantl's Burnt Almond Torte, Vincent's pizza, Sarris Candies, Dave & Andy's ice cream and lots of Heinz condiments. Yes, there will be Iron City beer too. I'm getting hungry!

- Some type of presence from current or former Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins. Heck, we can have some Riverhounds or Maulers too. Yes, I'll even allow a visit from Steely McBeam.



- We need to have some type of Kennywood exhibit. Maybe they can build The Racer or Thunderbolt for this festival.

- Music: Let's get Wiz Khalifa, Rusted Root, The Clarks and Mac Miller, who recently wrote "I am Pittsburgh" on Twitter.

- Admissions officers from Pitt, Duquesne, CMU, Robert Morris, Chatham, Point Park, and Carlow to help recruit high school students.

- Bring a dinosaur from Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum. With the dinosaur hall at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History closed until 2019, folks in DC will want to see a real dinosaur skeleton.

- An exhibit from the Andy Warhol Museum.

- A Mister Rogers and/or Daniel Tiger exhibit. Mr. McFeely could make the trip to DC again.

- Birds from the National Aviary.

- Have a giant poster showing the view of Mt. Washington where people can take a picture standing in front of it.

- Booths from some of Pittsburgh's biggest employers such as UPMC, Giant Eagle, Highmark, US Steel, and PNC Financial Services to recruit potential employees.

What else would you want to see at a Pittsburgh festival? Do you think this could happen?

Sean’s Political Platform: The Real Issues

With the Presidential election less than a week away, there are some significant issues not mentioned by either President Obama or Governor Romney. In my opinion, if either candidate backed my initiatives, he would win the election. Therefore, let me introduce you to my 7-point plan.

1. Tax credits for owning pets adopted from animal shelters. Pets are wonderful companions and people should be encouraged to adopt animals from shelters. Plus, shelters usually require and ensure that the pets are spayed and neutered. Bob Barker is all for this!

2. Eliminate daylight savings time. I wrote about this earlier this year, and still don’t understand why most of the country follows daylight savings. What do we really save? Try getting a young child to follow the time change. Painful.

3. Change the non-profit status of the National Football League. I’ll admit that I don’t fully understand the tax status and how this works, but it seems inconceivable to me that an organization that generates billions of dollars is non-profit. All I know is that I have Sunday Ticket, but not the Red Zone Channel since it is an extra fee this year. The NFL has to be making big money from this.

4. Initiate paid leave for new mothers. The Family Medical Leave Act gives new mothers 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Canada allows for an entire year of leave for new mothers with 50 weeks of paid leave. The Scandinavian countries are even better. Wouldn’t it be great if new parents could get help supporting their infants in this country without needing to get back to work immediately?

5. You’re wondering how we’re going to pay for items #1 and especially #4, aren’t you? The solution: legalize marijuana and tax sales of marijuana. Is marijuana really worse than alcohol or tobacco? Legalize marijuana and let the states figure out how to sell it. Set a minimum age as well as penalties for driving under the influence. The opening of marijuana stores and licensed marijuana growers could also help create jobs. Wiz Khalifa is all for this!

6. End the NHL lockout. There’s no good reason why hockey isn’t playing right now. Actually, President Obama weighed in on this during his visit to Jay Leno, but that’s hardly getting the owners and players together. Has Governor Romney said anything about this? He was born in Michigan and was Governor of Massachusetts, two big hockey states, so you’d think he’d want the NHL to settle the lockout.

7. Get Joanna Garcia a successful television show. I liked Animal Practice, but not enough other people did. She seems to have had a string of unsuccessful television shows, but I admit that I like watching her. That sounds creepy, so maybe I should rephrase it before her husband, Nick Swisher, reads this. Um, just kidding, Nick.

I’m Sean of Sean’s Ramblings, and I approve this blog post.

Conversation with a Wegmans Cashier (I’m Not Old!)

This is an actual conversation that I had with a male Wegmans cashier in his late teens/early 20s on Sunday afternoon.

Cashier (upon seeing that I’m wearing a Steelers T-shirt) - Are you a Steelers fan?

Me (in my head) - No. Actually, the Baltimore Ravens are my favorite team. There’s nothing I like more than wearing my purple camouflage pants on game days.



Me: Yes. Born and raised in Pittsburgh.

Cashier: That’s cool. Some of my favorite artists are from Pittsburgh. They’re more my generation. I like Wiz Khalifa.

Me (in my head) – Like other people of my generation, I listen to Pat Boone and Bing Crosby regularly on my record player.

Me - and Mac Miller?

Cashier (amazed that I knew Wiz Khalifa & Mac Miller) – Yeah. He’s awesome.

Me - They both went to the same high school. I have some friends who went there too. I’m always amazed that these two rappers went to Allderdice. (Yes, I’m dropping knowledge on you, son!)



Casher- Cool. Did you know they’re filming the new Batman in Pittsburgh?

Me (in my head) – I’m sorry. Bat man? Is this some sort of an experiment where someone breeds a bat and a man and they film it? Interesting.

Me (alternative thought) - You mean one the biggest movie in the world? I had no idea. Maybe I would have known if I read my blog.

We ended up talking about the film and his disappointment about seeing so much online already. (Perhaps Andy Greenwald was right.) He was also quite excited about the $5 coupon I had for Similac formula, although he needed assistance from a manager to enter the specific code. Additionally, the cashier stated that he only got three hours of sleep last night. Good times all around!

When Did Pittsburgh Become a Rap Town?

In 2007, I wrote a post questioning when Pittsburgh became a country town. The Povertyneck Hillbillies appeared to be on the verge of country stardom, the Pittsburgh Pirates promotional schedule included several country acts following games and Kenny Chesney was about to sell out Heinz Field. Four years later, Kenny Chesney is still selling out Heinz Field, but there are no country acts on the Pirates schedule and the Povertyneck Hillbillies seem more like the answer to a trivia question than the next Sugarland. Instead, two of the biggest musical acts in the country, Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller, are rappers from Pittsburgh. How exactly did Khalifa & Miller become the most significant musical export from Pittsburgh since Rusted Root and Donnie Iris?

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette attempted to answer this question a few months ago in showing how Khalifa, Miller and Girl Talk (not a rapper but doing quite nicely for himself) got to where they are today. It’s a good article, but is missing one important part. In my mind, Wiz Khalifa truly hit the big time with “Black and Yellow” which became the unofficial song of Pittsburgh Steelers in their run to the Super Bowl last season. It even because the “official” song of the Steelers as Khalifa performed at Heinz Field prior to the AFC Championship game. The song was everywhere, not just in Pittsburgh, but across the country. Wiz hit the late-night circuit; Hoda and Kathie Lee used the song on the Today Show; and the song was used in dozens of parodies (my favorite was Sally Wiggin by the 96.1 Kiss FM Morning Freak Show). Eventually, it hit #1 and is still around today (see below), months after the song reached its peak.



Wiz’s follow-up song Roll Up may not match the success of Black and Yellow, but it is still a current top ten hit. Meanwhile, Mac Miller, a 19 year-old white, Jewish rapper has followed nicely in Wiz’s footsteps. Finding Miller’s videos on YouTube (many of which have over 10 million views), you can see how his songs have improved from just a few years ago to now. He may be new to me, but not to his thousands of fans, and likely the city of Pittsburgh. Plus, Miller gets huge bonus points for using the lyrics “keep a smile like an Eat ‘N Park cookie” in a song. Knock, Knock also features the best use of counting in a rap song Coolio's 1995 hit "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)." Check out Knock Knock for yourself below, but note that some lyrics may not be suitable for work.



Call it the magic touch of Benjy Grinberg, a former intern of L.A. Reid and the guy partly responsible for the success of Khalifa & Miller (and also a guy who went to the same elementary school and camp as me). What do Khalifa, Miller & Grinberg have in common? They all attended Taylor Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill. The fact that two of the biggest solo rap artists in the country went to the same high school is amazing. The fact that two of the biggest solo rap artists in the country went to Allderdice High School, a place where my aunt used to teach and where the majority of my fantasy baseball and football league attended, seems incredible (implausible could be another word to use).

Not living in Pittsburgh anymore, I’m guessing that Pittsburgh is still not a rap town. However, the success of Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller might make it that way someday.

Terrible Towel Sighting in London (Monday Links)

Every American newscast, including ABC's Good Morning America, is in London this week to cover the wedding of all weddings. So what would a live shot from London be without someone with a Terrible Towel?



Naturally, Robin Roberts made some type of comment about Hines Ward being on Dancing with the Stars. Nice network symmetry there.

I also have a few links for you to start your week:

How Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller and Girl Talk became the new face of the music scene. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Where is the game-winning puck from last year's Stanley Cup final? [ESPN]

How much money will you save if there's an NFL lockout? [Sarah Sprague]

Here's more about Jim Larranaga leaving George Mason from John Feinstein and Mike Wise. (I especially like the Wise piece.) I'm still shocked by this. [Washington Post and Washington Post]

Super Bowl Game Day Links & Videos for Steelers Fans

Are you spending the day just sitting in front of your computer and television waiting for Super Bowl XLV to begin? I'm here to provide some assistance to help you pass some of the time until kick-off:

Cotter put together an epic preview. [One For The Other Thumb]

You need some Myron Cope sound bites to get you pumped up.



There is an incredible list of Steelers fight songs on the Steelers in Hoboken website.

While I approve of the Troy Polamalu tribute, why a Florida State license plate? [Yahoo]



Great pictures of the Terrible Towel all over the world. [Mondesi's House]

Need a recipe for today? Check out the "ltimate Football Foodie Super Bowl Recipe Guide for Steelers-Packers Party 2011." [Sarah Sprague]

The DC Fox station visited the Steelers and Packers bars that are only feet away from each other. DC Steeler Nation came across much better in the video. When asked what the Packers need to do to beat the Steelers, the Packers fan (at just after the 2:30 mark of the video) replied, "Packer Nation is going to forget about Brett Favre." Um, that wasn't the question! In addition, the Packers fans won't even be at the Packer bar on Sunday. BOOOOOOO!

Steelers and Packers Fans Make Super Bowl Destinations in DC: MyFoxDC.com

If you enter #steelernation of Twitter, you can make a Terrible Towel wave [Twerrible Towel]



A little self-promotion. If you didn't see my interview with Steeler Nation: Israel or the panel of Steelers superstitions, you should. You can also read them again!

Finally, watch the video for Wiz Khalifa's Black and Yellow over and over.

Housekeeping: Steelers, Groundhog Day and More

Happy Groundhog Day everyone! I say this every year, but I'm really going to make it Punxsutawney someday.

* I received the following e-mail from TMZ:

Reaching out to you to see if you know of any die hard, fanatical Steeler fans doing anything outrageous for the Super Bowl. Let me know if you know of anyone doing anything outrageous as we get ready to take on GB.

Well, I plan on watching the game at my friends' house while wearing my Louis Lipps jersey and holding my Terrible Towel. I'm sure that I'll also have some food and drink. I think I am the perfect candidate for TMZ! If you are doing something slightly crazier than me, let me know (my e-mail is seanramblings at yahoo[dot]com), and I'll connect you with TMZ.

* I'm working on a post for tomorrow (Thursday) that will show Steeler fans' superstitions. If you'd like to participate, please contact me at my e-mail address above, and I'll send you more information.

* I realize that this story has been everywhere, but I wanted to share it here too. I think I need to get a Terrible Towel for my kid when he arrives in a few months.



* Wiz Khalifa has a deal with Eyetique. $10,000 for sunglasses seems a little much though. (Written by someone who won't spend more than $10 for sunglasses which might be why he doesn't currently own a pair since they generally break or get lost.)

* You still have time to enter my new giveaway for a $45 gift certificate to one of the CSN stores. Click here to enter or simply scroll down to my Monday post.

* Finally, here is your latest Yinz Luv Da Stillers.

Black and Yellow

Wiz Khalifa and his hit song "Black and Yellow" are everywhere. Black and Yellow is currently among the top five downloaded songs and has over 28 million views on YouTube. Plus, Wiz and his song were featured on two shows this week that I have never watched.

First, Hoda and Kathie Lee discussed Black and Yellow on their portion of the Today Show. I tried for at least an hour to get the video without any luck. Instead, go to the 96.1 Kiss Morning Freak Show website to see the video. Basically, Hoda loves the song while Kathie Lee does not. Watch the video and answer this question: has Kathie Lee always been this obnoxious?

Next, Wiz made his late-night debut on the George Lopez Show.



(h/t Mondesi's House)

If you have no idea who Wiz Khalifa is, I recommend reading this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article to learn.

Finally, since I saw this on MTV yesterday, I figured I would share the Black and Yellow remix featuring Snoop Dogg, T-Pain and Juicy-J. Personally, I think the original is much better. Plus, T-Pain looks significantly bigger than the other three rappers.

Trivia Tuesday: Picture Edition

Not even a Steelers trip to the Super Bowl can stop Trivia Tuesday! We have something special and different this week. Your challenge is the name the actors "in drag" (as in Photoshopped) in the pictures below.



As a bonus question (let's call this #11), can you identify where Wiz Khalifa is located from this picture taken from the Black and Yellow video. I really have no clue.



Please leave your answers in the comments section below. While I normally write the disclaimer not to use the internet to help you find answers, I'm not sure this will be a problem for this quiz. Plus, feel free to use the internet for the bonus question.

The non-Wiz Khalifa portion of this post is courtesy of the fine folks at Stump Trivia.

My Top Songs of 2010

Most people put together their best of the year lists in mid to late-December. Not me! Who cares if we're already into the second week of January 2011? I thought I would put together some of my favorite songs from the past year. Yes, I realize that some of these songs may have been released in 2009, but I'm counting them as 2010. If you don't like it, make your own list!

Wiz Khalifa - Black and Yellow



The Black Keys - Tighten Up



Cee Lo Green - F**k You (very catchy and multi Grammy-nominated song but NSFW, if you couldn't tell by the title)



Taio Cruz - Break Your Heart (featuring Ludacris); I also like his follow-up hit, Dynamite.



Ke$ha - Tik Tok



Mumford and Sons - Little Lion Man (NSFW due to one work in the chorus)



I'm sure that I could include more songs, but six videos in one post is probably four or five too many. Pink's Raise Your Glass, Animal by Neon Trees and anything by Katy Perry (including if she wrote a song of her reading the phone book and made a video of it) also deserve recognition.