April 29, 2012
‘Earache My Eye‘ is a comedy routine and song by Cheech and Chong which features ‘Alice Bowie’ (one of Cheech Marin’s characters). It first appeared on ‘Cheech & Chong’s Wedding Album’ (1974). Cheech And Chong also lip sync to the recording (with Chong behind the drumkit) in their first movie ‘Up in Smoke’ (1978). This piece has been featured repeatedly on the ‘Doctor Demento’ radio show. According to Tommy Chong’s autobiography, the famous guitar riff is played by Gaye Delorme, who also composed the music for the song. Additionally, Chong states that drums on the song are played by famed international percussionist Airto Moreira.
The B-side, ‘Turn That Thing Down’ features the remainder of the musical track, from the point of Marin’s monologue about his wealth, without the actual dialogue, complete to its conclusion. It is possible to assemble the full-length version of the song by editing the two sections together. Several radio stations refused to play the song. Once the song hit its peak on the charts, radio station managers pulled the song out of the format of airplay, due to complaints by parents, teachers, psychologists, principals, and counselors, who stated that this song mostly appealed to junkies, dropouts, drug addicts, and drunks, as well as for students playing hooky from class, giving them a bad example of behavior.
Posted in Art, Drugs, Humor |
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April 29, 2012
Methaqualone is a sedative-hypnotic drug that is similar in effect to barbiturates, a general central nervous system depressant. The sedative-hypnotic activity was first noted by Indian researchers in the 1950s and in 1962 methaqualone itself was patented in the US by Wallace and Tiernan. Its use peaked in the early 1970s as a hypnotic, for the treatment of insomnia, and as a sedative and muscle relaxant.
It has also been used illegally as a recreational drug, commonly known as Quaaludes [kwey-lood], Sopors, Ludes, or Mandrax (particularly in the 1970s in North America) depending on the manufacturer. At that time ‘luding out’ was a popular college pastime. This is the similar effect of an alcoholic blackout with no recollection of events. Since at least 2001, it has been widely used in South Africa, where it is commonly referred to as ‘smarties’ or ‘geluk-tablette’ (meaning ‘happy tablets’). Clandestinely produced methaqualone is still seized by government agencies and police forces around the world.
Posted in Drugs, Health, Politics |
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April 29, 2012
Tehrangeles [te-ran-juh-luhs] is a portmanteau deriving from the combination of Tehran, the capital of Iran, and Los Angeles. It is used when referring to the large number (up to 800,000) of former Iranian nationals and their descendants residing in the Los Angeles metropolitan area; it is the largest such population outside of Iran. In common usage, it usually refers to the proportionally larger Persian-American subset of Iranian immigrants, many of whom are second generation citizens.
This area is now officially recognized by the City of Los Angeles as ‘Persian Square.’ The Persian community in the L.A. area originally centered in the Westwood neighborhood of west Los Angeles, often referred to as Little Persia or Persian Hills/Persian Square. Immigration to the area increased several-fold due to the events surrounding the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Westwood Boulevard became known for its many Persian shops and restaurants; and the Persian expatriate community of Los Angeles entered all forms of media including magazines, newspapers, radio and television stations.
Posted in Language, World |
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April 29, 2012
In marketing terminology, a killer application (commonly shortened to killer app) is any computer program that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as computer hardware, gaming console, software, or an operating system. One of the first examples of a killer application is generally agreed to be the ‘VisiCalc’ spreadsheet for the Apple II. The machine was purchased in the thousands by finance workers on the strength of this program.
The definition of ‘killer app’ came up during Bill Gates’s questioning in the ‘United States v. Microsoft’ antitrust suit. Gates had written an email in which he described ‘Internet Explorer’ as a killer app. In the questioning, he said that the term meant ‘a very popular application,’ and did not connote an application that would fuel sales of a larger product or one that would supplant its competition.
Posted in Money, Politics, Technology |
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