Fourtress of Solitude

• Fact: The term “barbarian” comes from the Greek word barbaros, which is in turn derived from the “bar-bar” sound the Greeks heard when foreigners talked (similar to “blah blah”). The term originally applied to all people who could not speak Greek.
• Opinion: Barbarbarbar. Barbar? Barbarbar; barbarbar. Bar
• Song: Download “Christmas Reindeer” by The Knife from iTunes before they start charging for it. Ignore the title; aside from a few referrences to an evil Santa, the song is pretty season-neutral. Instead, focus on the downright creepy synth lines.
• Link: Pissing away your time watching music videos is all well and good, but what if you don’t want to move from your computer? Or log on to MTV.com? Or search YouTube? Well, the good folks at Pitchfork have assembled a collection of 100 awesome music videos for your enjoyment. There are some pretty clutch choices in here, like The Avalanches’ “Frontier Psychiatrist” and Air’s “Kelly Watch the Stars”, to say nothing of “Tha Crossroads.

Tour de Fours

• Fact: The top minor league team in Atlanta used to be the Atlanta Crackers, which played from 1901 to 1965. For twenty years of this time the team played at Spiller Field, notable for having a magnolia tree in the outfield; balls stuck in the tree remained in play until they were removed. Interestingly, the Atlanta Negro League team was known as the Black Crackers. Huh.
• Opinion: I’ve probably laughed more in the last two nights than I have in three months, and it’s all been at the stupidest stuff. For example, last night all I did was play Halo and watch Mortal Kombat with the guys, and it was off the hook, chain even. For any of you who have lost all respect with the film medium, I highly recommend both movies in the Kombat series. The first one sucks, and the second one sucks even harder. But that’s not the reason you watch them. No, the true value in watching Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation lies in the little things. The lightning god inexplicibly bursting into nervous laughter and apologizing for it. Unnecessary somersaults. A network of steam-activated subterranean tunnels, navigated by gladiator ball. A cgi battle between a dragon and a hydra. Perfection. Or should I say, FLAWLESS VICTORY!!1
• Song: “When the Last Time”, by the Clipse, on the album “Lord Willin’”. Yes, this was a huge hit when it came out in 2002, but in all honesty, it’s the only Clipse song you need. Actually, you can make do with just the instrumental, because this might be the best Neptunes track ever.
• Link: Sometimes when I’m feeling blue I just click the random button on this page until I feel happy again.

Fourth Down

• Fact: Humans can remember smells more easily than they can remember visual or auditory stimuli. This is because scent is not processed through the Hippocampus, the part of the brain which encodes memory; it takes a sort of “shortcut” into stored memory.
• Opinion: I think I have more lunch dates than I have lunches remaining.
• Song: “Grammy Family”, by Kanye West feat. John Legend and Consequence, on “DJ Khaled Presents… Listennn”. As someone who thought this summer’s “Holla at Me” was a turd, I wasn’t expecting much from DJ Khaled’s mixtapeish album, but after listening to the beat on this track, I was pleasantly surprised. Granted, Consequence’s verse is only so-so, but Kanye is in top form, poking fun at his ego by rapping “even I hate us”. Unfortunately, John Legend’s contribution is pretty much him wailing now and then. Still, definitely download this song.
• Link: If you like a little servitude before supper, you might enjoy this cluckin’ awesome piece of viral advertising. Before they sold four dollar Xbox 360 games, Burger King made a website to advertise their new chicken sandwhich where you could send commands to a man in a chicken suit (try “dance”, “trash room”, “break tv”, etc.) . A little disturbing, but then again, these are the people who built that creepy King character.

Four Whom the Bell Tolls

• Fact: I got a Playstation 3 for Christmas. Despite the lofty price tag (which you can google so I don’t blush), the Playstation 3 isn’t the most expensive video game system of all time; the first and second place honors would go to the 1993 3DO ($700) and the 1990 NeoGeo ($650) respectively. I’m a nerd, I know (this is a fact).
• Opinion: I’m still in that post-Xmas pre-New Year’s funk, where I’m too overgifted to play with my presents and too stupid to realize that I should play with them before I go back to school. Speaking of which, I’m going to need to downsize academically next semester; before this fall, I had never worked so hard for so little.
• Song: “Charango”, by Morcheeba, on the album “Charango”. This song is like a musical Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (“You’ve got your rap in my electronica!” “You’ve got your electronica in my rap!”): delicious. Granted, this confection already has a name (trip-hop), but Morcheeba increases the dosage for both ingredients with the help of rapper Pace Won. If “Charango” doesn’t satisfy, 1. You Suck, and 2. Try “Women Lose Weight”, a fucking awesome track with Slick Rick talking about killing his wife because she’s too fat. That’s edutainment!
• Link: Seeing as how I’ve already tagged this post under “Video Games” and “I’m a Nerd”, bragged about my PS3, and actually used the phrase “musical Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup”, I’m just going to give up on appearing well-adjusted altogether. Here’s a link with every video game console evar for your edification.

Fourm and Function

• Fact: Mister Rogers had a black adopted brother, George. George became a flight instructor for the famous black squadron The Tuskegee Airmen and taught Roger how to fly a plane.
• Opinion: I am getting increasingly bored and frustrated with my job at the library. Perhaps five years is enough?
• Song: In honor of the late James Brown a.k.a. Soul Brother #1, I recommend “Funky President” by none other than the Godfather himself. Or, if you’re in a disrespectful mood, try “James Brown is Dead” by L.A. Style, an early 90s pump-up techno song which begins with the announcement that “James Brown is dead”.
• Link: Like comics? Like guns? Then you’ll love this link. No, it’s not Sin City, silly. The NRA is apparently releasing a promotional graphic novel encouraging Americans to purchase weapons to protect themselves against Michael Moore, Latinos, the Liberal Media, and um, a tsunami. As in the wave.

Fame and Fourtune

• Fact: Ralphie says the phrase “Red Rider BB Gun” 28 times in the classic “A Christmas Story”. The movie is also narrated by Jean Shepherd, who wrote In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, a collection of stories from the Hoosier’s life.
• Opinion: Being home feels a lot more comfortable this year than it did last year. Maybe it’s because this last semester was so hectic, but I think a large part of it has to do with just my material surroundings. I can walk barefoot without getting infected. I know that there is food in the refrigerator, and that I don’t have to worry about someone else stealing it. No one is going to leave caked cheese on the grill. These things comfort me more that I thought, and maybe more than they should.
• Song: In the spirit of the season, I recommend some good old Manheim Steamroller, either “Good King Weslasce Wenslas Wesley” or “Deck the Halls”. Yes, it’s Christmas crap, but it has been run through a synthesizer, which, in my eyes, transforms it from crappy crap to decent crap.
• Link: Keeping with the Xmas theme, a neat article about the Christmas Story house, now a museum. Unfortunately, it’s a NY Times link, so you kids will have to put Hooked on Phonics to work. Ho.

Fourplay

• Fact: The song “Happy Birthday” is still protected by copyright. Mildred and Patty [Teacher's College Alum] Hill composed the tune in the 1890s for the school song “Good morning to all”. Exactly when and where the lyrics were changed no one’s sure, but when “Happy Birthday” became popular in the 20s and 30s, Jill Hill, sister to Mildred and Patty, demonstrated the similarities to “Good Morning”, winning the rights to the song, which was published and copyrighted in 1935. Add to that a 28 year licence, a 28 year renewal, a 1975 law extending coprights to 75 years after initial publication, and a 20 year extension, and we’re looking at another 29 years until the song hits the public domain.
• Opinion: So this is my new blog, which will replace the old one, which replaced the older one. Actually, that probably counts as fact… Anyway, I’ve come to the conclusion that personal blogs don’t really work, since there’s that tension between wanting to listen to other people bitch about your life and not wanting those same people to realize you’re bitching about them. So, in lieu of “Nick Camp Gone Wild” (hey I was too young, too tired, and too lazy to think of a respectable name) I have Four Things to offer: something old (my tired opinions), something new (a fact I’ve learned), something borrowed (from another website via a link), and something blue else… music related… As for this last bit, until I’ve found an easy way to share music that won’t get my ass busted by the RIAA, you’ll have to settle for the just the song info for now. Speaking of which…
• Song: “Float” by The Music, on the album “The Music”. Are they good? Please, Music is their middle last name!
• Link: Word Perhect Use a handwritten version of MS Word. On your computer. Meta much?