The reverse parody

This week someone posted on Facebook the songs Weird Al is parodying on his new CD coming out this summer. I looked at the list and stated just like the Lady Gaga song there was an issue with, I did not know any of the original songs so Weird Al's parodies will be like original songs to me just like many from his previous two albums.

The person said I had to have heard of those songs and I explained that I stopped caring for current music in 1991 after Whitney Houston got famous from her horrible rendition of the National Anthem before Super Bowl XXV where it sounded like she had a vibrator shoved up her cunt and that I only hear current songs when they appear on a Rock Band disc, are something someone (usually my daughter) asks me to download for Rock Band or when someone makes a parody of them.

About 5 years ago I coined the term "reverse parody" within my group of friends referring to any original song where one hears the parody first as that was a common experience for me when I started listening to my friends songs most recently hearing Bruno Mars song Grenade when I first heard Insane Ian's parody called Bob-omb. I also specified that a reverse parody is only specific to the person listening to the song and will be different for different people.

Thinking about it, I looked at the FuMP website and looked at every parody that was released in 2011 including the multiple ones in one medley of songs and noticed a pattern:



FYI: The only 20th century song I did not know the original was Rapper's Delight and only know of Snoop Dogg (What's My Name) because someone asked me to get it as a DLC for Rock Band shortly before he released a parody of it. The only 21st century song I know is the Double Rainbow Song. Though I know of Stacy's Mom, I first heard the parody Harry's Wand.

People do not age on their birthdays but in specific moments throughout the year. This is definitely one for me.

Turkey football

May at my work has for the past several years involved printing things for the upcoming football season and it becomes interesting looking at how the same basic image of fans in the piece changes depending on the team and the association via photoshop or replacing certain people in the picture to accomidate specific fan bases.

I then wondered about printing schedules since the NFL is in its third month of their lockout and the season is currently not guaranteed to play at this time since adding 2 games is one of the issues between the owners and players. I then remembered the Dolphins are scheduled to visit Dallas on Thanksgiving so I know my wife will be miserable on that day like she was in 2004 when the Dolphins beat Dallas as the networks usually choose since the famous Thanksgiving game played in snow in 1993.

With the current schedule and the yearly switch of the Detroit and Dallas Thanksgiving games between networks, I know the Dolphins (and the other 3 AFC east teams) have a 50/50 chance to play on Thanksgiving in years they play in Detroit or Dallas which currently happens once every 8 years. (I could post another paragraph or two explaining why but you have to trust me on this)

So I wondered about the odds of the Dolphins playing on that day. The chances are 1/8 * 1/2 for Detroit or Dallas and 1/4 * 1/8 to play the night game in Denver or 1/16 +1/16 + 1/32 or 5 times out of 32.

Well what about the Bears? They play in Detroit every year but only half the time could that game appear on Thanksgiving so that chance is 1/2 * 1/6 or 1 in 12 (in those years, any one of 6 NFC teams play in Detroit). They play in Dallas once every 6 years due to rotation and have a 1 in 8 chance of playing in Dallas due to their standings on 2 of 3 years. Those odds are (1/6 + 1/8 * 2/3) * 1/6 or 1 time out of 24. They play in Denver one year out of 8 and have a 1 in 8 chance of being the opponent selected so that is 1 out of 64. So the chance is 1/12 + 1/24 + 1/64 or 9 times out of 64.

Not the Natural I know

In the past, I have talked about sports movies whose endings I did not like due to the lack of logic involved ranging from a fat freshman at the end of a 5 on 3 penalty kill beating 3 upperclassmen down the ice to Mark Grace hitting a 500 ft home run to a college football team of only 18 walkons winning its only game against the number one team in the country.

There was one movie I failed to mention but I find its ending worse than the other movies for a different reason. The Natural. The ending scene is one of the most memorable ones in movie history and the music played as Roy Hobbs rounds the bases is often heard at ballgames and it makes me sick to my stomach when I hear it. Here is the scene I referenced:

https://youtu.be/gjk3RsytFZg

Why does it bother me? Believe it or not, I have read the book. In high school, every other Monday involved a test about a novel and it was the first book of my junior year.

Following a conversation about books whose movie was adapted differently I went to Wikipedia and here is the plot summary for the end of the book written in 1952 (spoiler):

The judge offers Hobbs increasing amounts of money to lose the final game for the Knights. Hobbs makes a counter-offer of $35,000, which is accepted. That night, unable to sleep, he reads a letter from Iris. After seeing the word 'grandmother' in the letter, he discards it. The next day, he does play. During an at-bat, he fouls a pitch into the stands that strikes Iris, injuring her. The Wonderboy bat also splits in two lengthwise. Iris tells Roy that she is pregnant with his child. Now he's determined to do his best for their future. At the end of the game, with a chance to win it, the opposing team sends in Herman Youngberry, a brilliant young pitcher, who strikes out Hobbs, ending the season for the Knights.

The book ends with Hobbs seeking out the judge, Memo, and Gus Sands, hitting both the judge and Sands. Sands has his glass eye knocked out of his head and the judge has a bowel movement in his pants. Memo fires a gun at Hobbs, then puts it in her mouth. Hobbs takes it away from her, throws the bribe money at her and denounces her; she accuses him of murdering Bump. That evening, as he leaves the stadium, he sees a late edition newspaper headline accusing him of throwing the game. A newsboy asks him to tell him it is not true, but Hobbs breaks down and weeps.

Since the novel was written 33 years after the 1919 White Sox scandal where 8 players were banned from the game for taking a bribe to lose, it is likely that the Roy Hobbs character was based on Shoeless Joe Jackson since newsboy scene at the end of the book is similar to the situation at the Jackson trial. Personally I find that ending more realistic.

Doing my part

I believe that if every fat person would lose 10% of their body weight, the world would be a better place as the resources available could be spread among some of the people who do not have them.

I recently hit that mark. However all that did was change my category from very obese to obese so I need to lose 10% again from that weight and then another 10%.

The previous weekend had a large bump due to the large amount of food I had. With having to go 36 hours without any solid food this week, I expect to do more than stay stable. Hopefully I can do that.