Bag of Grab

Special Post: New York City Week

Bag of Grab is in New York City this week, and all of our daily themed posts will relate to Manhattan and the surrounding area.  

Music & Movie Monday: Radio City Music Hall

"New York City Week" begins with 5 facts about one of the city's greatest showplaces, Radio City Music Hall. 

1.  The theater opened as part of the Rockefeller Center complex on December 27, 1932.

2.  From 1933 to 1979, theater started showed four feature motion picture films each day,  and combined them with a live stage show.

3.  The theater was nearly converted to office space in 1979, but reopened as a live stage venue after a renovation in 1980.

4.  The theater has 5,931 seats, and can be temporarily expanded to just over 6,000. 

5.  The theater's stage is 66.5 feet deep and 144 feet wide.

 

Questions:

1.  Have you ever been to Radio City Music Hall?

2. What is the most visually amazing or historically interesting theater you've been too?

 

Wildcard Wednesday: NBC News Fire Alarm

In case you haven't seen it yet, we just had to share this piece of video with you.  It's "Wildcard Wednesday" here at BOG, and Brian Williams had to deal with a wildcard of his own on last night's NBC Nightly News telecast. 

 

 

Williams is a former firefighter, by the way, but apparently there was no real fire, so his only his news-reading skills were needed in this situation.  

 

Questions:

1.  When was the last time a fire alarm went off at your home or place of business?

2.  What is the most unusual thing you've seen recently on live television?

3.  What was the last job you had before your current occupation?

 

Tech & TV Tuesday: Smithsonian Magazine's Photo Contest

We're back from a short vacation, and rolling full force into the 2011 holiday season.  Our annual gift guide will be coming your way soon, along with a few other surprises.   Today though, we wanted to let you know about a fun annual photo contest organized by the folks at Smithsonian Magazine. 

You can enter as many as 35 photographs in up to five different categories (Americana, the Natural World, People, Travel, and Altered Images).  Cash prizes will be awarded, and some of the winners will be published in the magazine and put on display in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.   

The entry deadline is December 1, 2011 at 2:00 pm EST (this Thursday), so you'll need to hurry to enter.

Here's the contest link.  Good Luck!

 

Questions:

1.  Are you a good photographer?

2. Have you ever entered a photo you took in a contest?

3.  What was the most recent contest you entered?

 

Time & Travel Thursday: To the Shores of Iwo Jima

"To the Shores of Iwo Jima" is an Academy Award winning documentary short from 1945.  The film was produced by the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and was the first time that color footage of the flag raising at Iwo Jima was shown to American audiences.   You can see that too, and the entire 20 minute film below. 

 

 

 

Comments Welcome.

 

Wildcard Wednesday: Buddy Poppies

Buddy Poppies are a tradition that dates back nearly a hundred years. Even though it is Veteran's Day that is being celebrated at the end of this week, and the poppy program is mostly a Memorial Day event, we thought you'd be a more interesting person if you new their full story.

Follow any or all of the links below for details. 

http://www.vfwpost261.org/html/buddy_poppy.html

http://www.vfw.org/Community/Buddy-Poppy/

http://www.hasbrouck-heights.com/house/info/buddy_poppy.shtml

 

Questions:

1.  Did you know already know the name, origin, purpose or history of Buddy Poppies of has Bag of Grab made you a more interesting person?

2. Have you every received a Buddy Poppy?

 

 

Tech & TV Tuesday: A Hogan's Heroes Trivia Quiz

Hogan's Heroes aired from 1965 to 1971 (6 seasons) with a total of 168 episodes.   The comedy was set in a German prisoner of War camp during WWII, but we're hoping you already know that and more as we invite you to take the short Bag of Grab trivia quiz below.  No internet/Google peeking before you give your answers, and avoid the comments section until you're done if you want to see how you do compared to others.  Answers will be posted here on Thursday.

 

1.  What were the first names of Colonel Hogan and Colonel Klink's characters?

2.  What was the number of the fictional camp/stalag where the show was set?

3.  What TV network was the show originally broadcast on?

4. What were the names of the characters played by Richard Dawson, Larry Hovis, and Robert Clary?

5.  What was the last name of the character who replaced Ivan Dixon's character "Kinch" during the last season of the show?

6.  Bonus Point:  What was Sergeant Schultz's full name?

 

Music & Movie Monday: Sgt. Barry Sadler's "The Ballad of the Green Berets"

My introduction to "The Ballad of the Green Berets" came in grade school music class where I learned to sing the words before I even knew what a green beret was.  

The song was recorded by Sgt. Barry Sadler and released by RCA Victor records in 1966.   It was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five straight weeks from March 5th to April 2nd of that year, selling over one million copies.  

The album (shown at left) featuring this song and others in a similar theme sold another million. 

Sadler made his television debut singing the song on The Jimmy Dean Show.  I'm not sure if the clip below is from that particular appearance, but it seems to be from that same time period. 

 

 

 

Questions:

1.  Did you ever sing this song in school?

2.  Do you know any other great military-themed songs?

3.  Do you have the day off from work for Veteran's Day?

 

Tech & TV Tuesday: Olly

Meet Olly, the "web connected smelly robot" here, then come back and give us your thoughts.  

Questions:

1. On a scale of 1 -10 (1 being "no chance", and 10 being "100% chance") how likely is it that this product will (a) make it to market and (b) be a financial success?

2. If you owned one, what scent(s) would you chose?

 

Halloween Week Finale: Which Is Better And Why?

We're breaking with format today to wrap up Halloween Week with a special edition of "Which Is Better And Why" featuring Halloween "treats".  And we're making it extra special today by giving  you 5 choices!  Make your case for  "Which Is Better And Why" in the comments.

1.  Sweet, non-chocolate Halloween treats... like Starburst, SweeTarts, Skittles, etc. 

2. Standard chocolate candy bars... like Snickers, Twix, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, etc. 

3.  Homemade treats... like popcorn balls, Rice Krispies cereal treats, etc.

4.  Non-food items... like scary pencils, spider rings, ghost stickers, etc.

5.  Halloween-specific treats... like eyeball candies, vampire fangs, gummy rats, etc. 

 

Which Is Better And Why?

 

Freaky Food & Fun Friday: The Jack-O-Lantern Story

You will be the most interesting person at your Halloween party this year if you share this HalloweenIsHere.com story about the "Jack-O-Lantern" tradition:

A stingy drunkard of an Irish blacksmith named Jack had the misfortune to run into the Devil in a pub, some say on Halloween night. Jack had too much to drink and was about to fall into the Devil's hands, but managed to trick the Devil by offering his soul in exchange for one last drink. The Devil turned himself into a sixpence to pay the bartender, but Jack quickly pocketed him in his purse. Because Jack had a silver cross in his purse, the Devil could not change himself back. Jack would not let the Devil go until he promised not to claim his soul for ten years.

The Devil agreed and ten years later Jack came across the Devil while walking on a country road. The Devil wanted to collect, but Jack, thinking quickly, said "I'll go, but before I go, will you get me an apple from that tree?" The Devil, thinking he had nothing to lose, jumped on Jack's shoulders to obtain the apple. Jack pulled out his knife and carved a cross in the trunk of the tree. This left the Devil in the air, unable to obtain Jack or his soul. Jack made him promise to never again ask for his soul. Seeing no way out, the Devil agreed.

When Jack finally died years later, he was not admitted to Heaven, because of his life of drinking and being tightfisted and deceitful. When he went to apply for entrance to Hell, the Devil had to turn him away because he agreed never to take Jack's soul. "But where can I go?", asked Jack. "Back where you came from!", replied the Devil. The way back was windy and dark. Jack pleaded with the Devil to at least provide him a light to find his way. The Devil, as a final gesture, threw a live coal at Jack straight from the fire of Hell. To light his way and to keep it from blowing out in the wind, Jack put it in a turnip he was eating.

Ever since, Jack has been doomed to wander in darkness with his lantern until "Judgment Day." Jack of the lantern (Jack o'Lantern) became known as the symbol of a damned soul.

 

Questions:

1.  Do you plan to make a jack-o-lantern this Halloween?

2.  What is your favorite Halloween tradition?

3.  Have you ever been so thirsty you'd have sold your soul to the devil for a drink?