Things you were shockingly old when you learned

i was too scared of the baby to watch Eraserhead when I was in HS. I got over the fear eventually.

It is disturbing though!

I learned just today that the woodwind in "Life in a Northern Town" is a cor anglais and not an oboe.

I know everyone else knew it, but I didn't know until last night that the lead singer of Streetband, famous for Toast, was Paul Young.

i: that there's a single stock sound effect which is used in countless movies, inc.all the star warses (viz when a minor character screams in fear or pain or when dying)
ii: it is referred to as the "wilhelm scream" after the character private wilhelm in the western THE CHARGE AT FEATHER RIVER (1953), who gets an arrow in the thigh
iii: but it first appeared in DISTANT DRUMS (1951), as likely voiced by singer-actor sheb wooley
iv: sheb wooley is best known for the song THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATER (1958)

in conclusion ever movie to come out of hollywood in the 50s is -- openly or secretly -- about aliens (but this i already knew)

but I've also heard that every '50s movie from Hollywood is about communists/communism

https://www.artnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Posadist_meme.png

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omg mark s I am so happy you have discovered the Wilhelm scream

:)

In appreciation of The Wilhelm Scream

I just learned that if one always forgets to save some pasta water when cooking, then one should place a measuring cup in the strainer so they will see it and say “oh shit, save some of that pasta water.”

*high-fiving!* I felt like such an amazing genius when I realized that you could do that as a reminder. It only took, um, decades to figure it out.

Why would you save pasta water? Is it better than, say, hot dog water?

I always put 1/2cup/125ml -> 1 cup/250ml of pasta water into my sauce as a thickener. Also with pasta primavera-type dishes when there's a final baking stage I'll put a cup of pasta water in it.

It works best with starchy pasta, even chickpea pasta (Banza makes a rotini that's really good for pasta primavera). I don't save it from rice-based pasta/noodles

yeah there's a bunch of recipes that call for pasta water later on in the process

I only just learned that Sonic Boom and Jason Spaceman were born on the same day.

courtesy borad member bbq in the Liz Phair thread, St Cecilia is the patron saint of songwriters, and the Simon and Garfunkel song is about writer's block.

Bonnie Bedelia most famous for being Bruce Willis’s estranged wife in ‘Die Hard’ is Macaulay and Kieran Culkin’s aunt.

Mattttkkkk you should also consider "The Coast," in which a family of musicians took shelter for the night in the little harbor church of St. Cecelia.

Two guitars, Bata bass drum and tambourine, the rose of Jericho and the bougainvillea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oepxgnb2Mb4

‘Cecilia’ thing is new to me. Very interesting .There’s something about that song that doesn’t make sense without that context.

Cecilia is the patron saint of music and of musicians generally.

Also her feast day was yesterday, November 22.

YMP I've always loved that track and never made the connection. Is that Ray Phiri on guitar?

Vincent Nguini, who joined Simon for that album and went on to work with him for decades after. Absolutely beautiful playing.

Simon can entice great musicians to collaborate with him. It raises the level of his music considerably.

"Steal Away" by Robbie Dupree, notable for how much of a rip it is on the Doobie Brothers/Michael McDonald's "What a Fool Believes," has backing vocals by... Michael McDonald.

lol no way

Did y’all also know that “The Only Loving Boy in New York” was about when Artie was away on location acting in Catch-22?

And I just realized or was reminded that “Tom” is a reference to Tom and Jerry.

Hence "your part will go fine."

Also, this just in: there were, in fact, other boys living in New York at that time.

Do tell.

Chubby Checker married the 1962 Miss World and next year will be their 60th anniversary.

Excellent.

Only recently realised that Chubby Checker as a name is a riff on Fats Domino

Things you were shockingly old when you learned

If I ever need a stage name it will be something like Portly Chess or Zaftig Parcheesi.

Big-boned Monopoly

Upon reflection I wonder whether Slim Pickens might be an equal and opposite reaction

(And Zelda, please understand that I mean no disrespect in noting that it has been discussed before - it's what this thread is here for.)

Doughy Pachinko

Today I realized that the phrase "follow suit" derives from playing cards.

Mad Magazine coined “Porky Parcheesi”

sardines are young pilchards

for years my company capped Canada office's hours at 37.5/week as opposed to 40/week in the US, so I mistakenly assumed this was due to Canada laws and that overtime was received if you went over 37.5/week.

found out today it was just due to a dumb HR policy in Canada that they only get to work that many hours.

this is why we google

Parchment is skin

wait’ll you hear about Soylent Green

The boy whose voice you hear saying "look mummy, there's an aeroplane up in the sky" on Pink Floyd’s Goodbye Blue Sky is Roger Waters son.

Intriguing. So many of those spoken bits have become (perhaps overly) storied. Like the Abbey Road janitor saying "I'm not frightened of dying" or whatever.

The dad in Family Ties is the gun nut in Tremors

And a sexual harasser guest star on a memorable episode of Night Court.