We are the World 25

25 Years ago, Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, and the late great Michael Jackson composed an emotional, heartwarming song entitled "We Are The World."
With their tremendously collaborative influence in the music industry, this powerhouse music trio brought together the biggest names in music into one studio, where they recorded this incredibly uplifting song. The profits of the recording went to help victims of starvation and povery in Africa. The recording included, among others, the likes of: Billy Joel, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Diana Ross, Huey Lewis, Janet and Michael Jackson, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Kenny Loggins, Lionel Richie, Cindy Lauper, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson, Dionne Warwick, and Smokey Robinson. Here is the original recording, 25 years ago:



A few weeks ago, the world emotionally trembled after hearing of the terrible disaster in the physical trembles of Haiti's earthquake. Jones and Richie felt that it was only appropriate to once again bring together the greatest singers of our time to record a new, modern version of their classic song. This time the proceeds would go towards the Haiti Relief Fund. This year's artists included among others: Justin Bieber, Jennifer Hudson, Adam Levine of Maroon 5 fame, Fergie, Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, Will.I.Am, Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, Nicole Sherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls, Pink!, the incomparable and legendary Tony Bennet, Kanye West, Akon, Usher, Wyclef Jean (a Haiti native himself), Randy Jackson, Josh Groban, Jennifer Nettles, Mary J. Blige, Enrique Iglesias, Iyaz, Toni Braxton, Busta Rhymes, Katherine McPhee, Harry Connick Jr., Jordin Sparks, Rob Thomas, Jason Mraz, T-Pain, Carlos Santana, the Jonas Brothers, and Miley Cyrus:



Now, here are my comments:
There is no doubt that the original was better in terms of star power. In my eyes, te original had the top tier of music's best in it's time. This years arguably, included the mid-card to upper mid-card talent in the world today. Where is Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Dave Matthews, Shakira, Jay-Z, or Beyonce? I don't know, maybe I'm wrong about that, but I think that in comparison the star power was far greater in the original. Bob Dylan!!! Bruce!!! Ray Charles!!! Paul Simon!!! Michael Jackson!!! It doesn't get any bigger than that! I do have to say that I liked the remix, and I even liked the rap part of the song as it gave space for the members of the rap genre to show off what their best at. It was nice to see that all of these stars sang so emotionally for such a great cause. The obvious predicatable part of this year's recording was the inclusion of Michael Jackson's original recording. Was this necessary? I don't think so. This wasn't just a re-recording of a great song. It was a tribute to Haiti. This was not the time to have a Michael Jackson tribute. We've seen enough of those. Wyclef Jean's solos, while extremely annoying, were still appropriate due to his strong ties to Haiti.

Oscar Nominations are in!!!

Well, the day is finally here! I made sure to get up early enough to daven at a earlier minyan so that I could catch the Live announcements of the Oscar Nominations at 8:30 this morning. Let's go through each category and discuss:

Best Picture

Nominees: "The Hurt Locker," "Up in the Air," "Up," "District 9," "An Education," "Precious," "Inglorious Basterds," "A Serious Man," "The Blind Side," "Avatar."

I've only seen 7 out of 10 of these pictures, but will hopefully watch "A Serious Man," "District 9," and "An Education," by the week's end. However, I don't think it will change my mind. I have always said that The Hurt Locker was the greatest film of the year. The only real competition I see is Avatar. But regarding Avatar, when you get past the cool effects and creatures, the story itself leaves alot to be desired. The Hurt Locker is a thrilling, intense, captivating window into the lives and jobs of a Bomb Squad in Iraq. It was incredible. See it. The big surprise in this category was the inclusion of The Blind Side. The movie was good, but was not better than any other "feel good movie" like Remember the Titans, or The Great Debaters. Altough enjoyable, it was the same movie you've seen 100 times before. I also felt that Basterds didnt live up to the greatness of past Tarantino films, although Christoph Waltz's performance saved the movie, but more on the later. Precious was an acting powerhouse, but won't beat out Avatar or Locker. Let me just say a few words about this new 10 nominee business. It is ridiculous. It completely devalues the nomination. Sure it's amazing that UP has become the second ever animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture, but it would have been alot more impressive had it been nominated in a 5 nominee category, much like Beauty and the Beast managed to do in 1992. Please Academy, switch back to the old.

Final Prediction: I wouldn't be surprised if The Hurt Locker pulled out a big win on the big night.

Best Actor

Nominees: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart," George Clooney, "Up in the Air," Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker," Colin Firth, "A Single Man," Morgan Freeman, "Invictus."

See, this is why a 5 nominee category is amazing. Even with only 5 spots, Renner managed to pull a surprising, but incredible nomination. A virtual uknown, Renner should be super proud to be included in a categoruy that included huge names like "Clooney," and "Freeman." I am super excited for Renner. He put on a great performance. I've only otherwise seen Clooney and Freeman's performance. I hate George Clooney. I think he has no range. He is the same in every movie he is in. I think Freeman was awful in Invictus, and his terrible accent in the movie really made me upset. I haven't seen Crazy Heart, but it just looks like last year's "The Wrestler," with a guitarist in place of the wrestler. It doesn't look special, but I can't honestly say until I see it.

Final Prediction: Bridges has won every major award, so I expect him to take it, but I am crossing my fingers for an upset by Renner.

Stay tuned for my opinions on the other categories...

Did You Know...?

...that you can cut somebody off on the road or recklessly drive around them as long as you wave?

We knew. Now you do, too.

'Arbeit Macht Frei' Sign Stolen

Looks like some hoodlums stole the (in)famous sign by the entrance to Auschwitz. Click here for the link.

Shmolympics

This is from a website that could be described as a parody of "The Onion". It's basically the jewish version and it's called "The Knish". This is a pretty funny article:

http://www.theknish.com/articles/eyes-world-israel-32nd-shmolympics-begin/

Do You Remember...? Cereal Box Prizes

I love eating cereal. But something really pisses me off nowadays. What happened to the prizes that come inside the cereal boxes??? The greatest part of the cereal box experience was lost! I remember my mom getting so mad at me for just opening a new box so that I could stick my hand into the bag of sticky Sugar Crisp, just to retrieve the Sugar Bear Pog and add it to my collection. The cereal companies finally got smart and placed the prizes on the outside of the plastic bag, not buried deep within the cereal. Remember those color changing spoons that came in the Trix and Fruity Pebbles boxes? Now if you want to get a prize from a cereal box you have to collect 30 paper tokens from 30 different boxes to finally get your Cuckoo Cocoa Puff alarm clock! Boy, this recession has really hit us hard. And can you please make the games on the back of the boxes a little more challenging for us 20 year olds who still eat cereal on a regular basis? I can count how many Cap'n Crunch pieces are hidden on the back of the box before I pour my milk. And don't make me go into the inside of my box to find out that I lost the contest to win a Cinnamon Toast Crunch sweepstakes. Just print it on the front of the box and kill my dreams straight away. Eating cereal just isn't as exciting anymore. Stay tuned to my article on cereal varieties and characters coming soon.

Do you remember...?

Now, I'm no longer in high school, so to me this is a good Do You Remember...? article. Do you remember actually having to use looseleaf binders in elementary and high school? Perhaps the greatest invention ever were the paper reinforcements. What genius! Except, of course, when you didn't quite match up the sticker with your rip, and then when you try pulling the sticker off, the rip tears even more. But one day, someone decided to be more of a genius and sell paper with laminated holes on the side. And this whole discussion just reminds me of those annoying kids who when asked to borrow a piece of paper would respond "Borrow a piece of paper? What are you gonna do? Return it?"I hated that kid (ok, I admit, that was sometimes me).

Old Names

My grandfather's names are Sheldon and Stanley. Who thought it was possible to have two grandfathers with the best old man names ever. Now, according to the Social Security official website, Stanley is the 568th most common name of the 2000's, and Sheldon is the 776th most popular. These names are listed behind names like Orion, Ezequiel, Deshawn, and Gilberto! I was just wondering whether my grandparents were really called Sheldon and Stanley as kids? If someone named a kid Sheldon today, it would be social suicide. That could would be the wedgie king of the world! Do you know kids or grandparents with funny names? Email us at SubbyBub@gmail.com.

Cool World Record

This kid, at only 9 years old, holds the Guinness World Record for balancing the most spoons on his face. Do you have a crazy talent that you would like to share with the world? Email us at SubbyBub@gmail.com and share them with us!

Cool Lake found on Google Earth

This picture was found by searching around the globe on Google Earth. It is a man made lake shaped like, well...a Man!

Crazy things people do:

Welcome to our new feature: Crazy things people do. I was amazed when I saw this video of the National "Anvil Shooting" Champion. I never knew that anvils existed outside a road runner cartoon, but I was proven wrong:

Did you know...

...that the name of the classic game "Tetris" originates from the word or prefix "tetra" [tettares in Greek is four]. The illusion to the number 4 has to do with the amount of boxes all of the shapes have. They're all compilations of 4 boxes in different shapes. Look at the picture and you'll see.

Little bit of a Tetris theme going on here on the shmopper.

We knew. Now you do, too.

 

Do You Remember...? Sleepovers

Yeaaaaa. Sleepovers, baby!

Taking a different bus home, being with a whole new group of kids on the bus, new driver. 

At some point in time though, it's no longer a "sleepover". The question "hey- you wanna have a sleepover tonight?" transforms into "you can stay by me tonight" or something of that sort. 

Accidentally on purpose

So if someone intentionally crashes their car into someone else's car, is it still referred to as an "accident"?

Do You Remember...? Old School Game Systems

Wow! The Old School Game Boy system! The first of its kind! This thing was absolutely massive! You needed to buy a case just to carry this thing around! It's crazy to think that we had handheld game systems that couldn't even fit in our pocket. How many fights occurred between brothers everywhere over who claims possession of the Game Boy for that hour? The graphics were absolutely horrendous. But, I always say, as old as those games were, they are still the best, and are timeless. Super Mario Bros, Tetris, Dr. Mario, Kirby's Dreamland, Wario, Paperboy, and Ninja Turtles. I can still spend hours playing those games, and they were still more challenging than the more graphic, more advance games on the modern day systems. And what was the deal with blowing on the cartridges when they didn't work? How is it possible that every kid everywhere instinctively knew that blowing was the solution to fix the games? And nothing was worse than seeing that small red power light start dimming while you were on a long car ride with your family. Don't die on my now BOY, I really don't want to be stuck listening to Uncle Moishy tapes in the car. And just for fun...a picture of a Game Gear! Ah...Classic Sonic!

Doesn't get better than this

This is an actual mugshot. Just click the link above

No. 2 to whom?

Just took a test yesterday and almost panicked because i didn't have a Number 2 pencil. That got me thinking- is there a Number 1 or Number 3 pencil out there i don't know about? I want it.

A dialogue to die for

The following conversation actually took place between a guy working at Starbucks (a barista), and an asian woman trying to place an order:

Barista: How may I help you today?

Asian: One green tea frappuccino

Barista: Would you like anything to eat with that?

Asian: No

Barista: okay, so that's one green tea frappuccino

Asian: Right

Barista (calls out to other barista): One green tea frappuccino

Asian: Right!

Barista (talking to asian again): Right, a green tea frappuccino

Asian: Right

Barista: OK, so we have one green tea frappuccino

Asian: Right!

Barista: Right, a green tea frappuccino

Asian: Right! 

Barista: Right, one green tea frappuccino!

Asian: RIGHT!

Barista: Am i not understanding you correctly? Just to make sure your order's correct- One green tea frappuccino, right?

Asian: Yes!

Barista: OK, good. One green tea frappuccino.

Asian: RIGHT!!!!

Barista: Right, a green tea frappuccino

Asian: RIGHTTTTT!!!!

Barista: Ok, ma'am. 

LeBron

107-106. I guess the boy didn't get his vitamins. You saw it here first.

Did You Know...?

...that "macchiato" of 'caramel macchiato' means "mark". The caramel macchiato is made differently from other espresso beverages at Starbucks. Whereas a latte is made by putting steamed milk on top of the espresso shots, a caramel macchiato is filled with the heated milk and foam after which the shots are poured on top of the foam, "marking" it with a brown spot created by the espresso. 

You can also get a regular 'espresso macchiato' 

We knew. Now you do, too.