This Month At Dontmindme.com — July 2002

Song of the Month: It's not like he needs any more promotion at this point, but I have had "We Are All Made of Stars" by Moby stuck in my head on and off since the first time I heard it and I'm not entirely sure why. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one. A week ago I was driving with some friends when the song came on the radio, and we all started quietly singing along. It was downright eerie. I do like the song, though.

Urban Legend of the Month: Ever heard that the Mormons own Coca-Cola? They don't. This is completely untrue. The value of Coke is well over 100 billion dollars. No one group could possibly own all of a company that size. The largest shareholder in Coke is actually one of Warren Buffet's holding companies, with an 8% stock in the company. Now, some Mormons may well own shares in Coca-Cola, but they certainly don't run the company.

Book of the Month: I haven't seen Minority Report yet, but that doesn't mean that I'm not familiar with the story. And I do mean story. A few weeks ago I happened to see a collection entitled The Minority Report and Other Classic Stories by Philip K. Dick in Zellers of all places. I try not to do this, but I bought it right then and there. Phil Dick is one of my favourite writers, and I would recommend this collection of short stories as a good starting point for anyone who wants to read Dick.

TV Show of the Month: Whatever you do, don't watch this show. It's the most horribly messed up thing I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. It's low budget bad Canadian television taken to a new level of low budget bad, only with lots of drugs and swearing. I speak of course of the Showcase original series Trailer Park Boys. Where else can you find characters who would open an illegal bar in a trailer to raise cash to buy hydroponic gear so they can grow marijuana? While I fear the all the talking about it may encourage some people to watch it, let me implore you not to. Besides, it only airs on Showcase, so if you don't live in Canada and get cable you couldn't watch it anyway. Consider yourself fortunate.

Game of the Month: Cranium. Quite simply this is the best party board game I've ever played. Considering how many I've played in my time, that's saying something. It combines elements of trivia, charades, Pictionary, and many other activities into a very fun game that has sold over a million copies. Very impressive for an independent board game.

Rumour of the Month: This might be in the pre-rumour stage, but Tom Hanks has said he'd be very interested in making Toy Story 3. Judging by how his last two movies did at the box office, Tim Allen probably is too.

Useful Link of the Month: While this might not be useful in the traditional sense of the word, Snopes.com is an index of urban legends and their truthfulness, or in many cases, lack thereof. So the next time you want to tell that story about your milkman's uncle and the time he found a dog at the beach but it turned out to be an Asian water rat, look it up and see just how true the story isn't.

Acronym of the Month: TLA — Three Letter Acronym. How can you not love a definition that provides its own example at the same time?

Word of the Month: Tumult. It means disturbance, riot, or just the general noise you'd get from a large crowd. A fairly simple word, but a good one. I'm going to try to use it before the week is out.

Quote of the Month: "The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life." — The surprisingly deep for a professional boxer Muhammad Ali.

Fun Fact of the Month: Coca-Cola used to contain slight traces of cocaine. Well, not cocaine properly, but rather ecgonine, the product from the coca leaf from which cocaine can be derived. Not very much, mind you, about one fiftieth of a part per million, and it was eliminated from the drink entirely in 1929.

Prank of the Month: Here's a nice easy office prank. Print out a page with SERVICE COPIER SOON in a large block font in the center of the page. Make a few copies and insert into the photocopier paper tray. Sooner or later someone will get a copy with a large type message informing them the copier needs service. This works equally well on plain paper fax machines, of course. It would work best in a large office, especially if you can pull it on a copier belonging to another department.