Facts and Fact Checking

Madness around this time of year... Haven't had time to post on everything I'd like to... Here're a few random things worth your attention (and you've probably already seen them).

1) Chappelle Theory (as seen at Straight Bangin', Lindsayism, a ton of other places). It seems watertight. Except for the Omni Hotel being in Buckhead (it's actually downtown), the part about how Robert Johnson "reportedly thought to himself 'Bill, Al and Louis may be right — if this really blows up, it sets us up to be minstrels again.'" (I love it when my internal monologue gets reported), and well, everything else in it. I love a good conspiracy theory. Always worth the time.

2) Yahoo's entertainment news has an odd story up about the death of Donnie Carroll. Who is Donnie Carroll? He was a friend of Mark Wahlberg and served as the inspiration for the character "Turtle" on the HBO series. He died in pretty terrible circumstances (asthma attack, died in his fiancee's arms), and seemed to lead a somewhat interesting life - well at least interesting enough to inspire a TV character. He and Wahlberg had a falling out a few years ago, and Carroll appears to also have had some form of a rap career as Murda One. But really, is this news? I mean, it's definitely sad when anyone dies, but this guy really doesn't seem to be headline deserving. "The guy who inspired a supporting actor on a TV show that has a one tenth the audience of a Numb3rs repeat" doesn't seem like a story. Was he a weed guy for some big power players in Hollywood or something? Also, pretty unfortunate picture on that story, since Jerry Ferrara, the actor who plays the character inspired by Carroll, uhhh.. isn't dead. The Lady and I both were thrown off by that.

3) Want to get back at someone who wants to keep you buttoned up? Pose scantily clad in photos, like Jessica Biel did to try to get out of her contract with Seventh Heaven. Will the same work for the niece of Osama Bin Laden? To be seen. Weird.

4) This deserves its own post. Back for the 101st time: THE GENERAL KNOWLEDGE PAPER (warning, PDF) brought to you from the good folks at King William's College on the Isle of Man. Good luck to all, but eyes on your own paper!

5) And finally, the heartfeltiest of hearty congratulations are in order to The Wrangler and his new fiancee. Now we'll have to come up with a psuedonym for the lovely and talented ______. And she gets a bienvenidos to our not-drunk-or-insane-in-any-way family.Happy times all around!