FFWD Weekly
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| SPLICE The Bubble Wrap Book The best thing about The Bubble Wrap Book (HarperPerennial) is its cover - the paperback has raised dots that actually feel like Bubble Wrap, although it lacks the satisfying "pop" you get by squeezing the real thing. Written by best-selling authors Joey Green and Tim Nyberg, better known as the Spam Guy and the Duct Tape Guy, the little book is chock full of everything you ever wanted to know (and plenty you don't) about Bubble Wrap and its multitude of uses. Use Bubble Wrap to: cushion those hard seats at baseball or football games... pad your bra for larger breasts without silicone implants... make a burglar alarm for your home by laying a strip on the floor inside doors and windows... cover your picnic table so ants take longer to reach your food... wrap around beer to keep it cold.... Don't put Bubble Wrap in the microwave - the bubbles will explode, but so will your microwave. St. Patrick's Day · St. Patrick is not of Irish descent, as many assume - he was born in England or Scotland. At age 16, he was kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland, where he worked as a shepherd for six years before he escaped. · The holding of parades across Ireland on March 17 is an imported tradition started in North America in the late 18th century, where military parades were held on the saint's day to encourage Irish immigrants to recruit into the American and British armies. · The original Shamrock was actually watercress, and the modern Shamrock is a type of clover. According to legend, Patrick used the Shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity. · During his captivity in Ireland, St. Patrick began to have religious visions. He later became a priest and is attributed with converting Ireland to Christianity. It was also said he drove the snakes out of Ireland, but many argue that there never were snakes in Ireland and the snakes are a symbol of paganism. · Green is associated with St. Patrick's Day because it's the color of spring, Ireland and the Shamrock. Leprechauns are also associated with this day, but for no apparent reason. · St. Patrick's real name is said to be Maewyn Succal. He took on Patrick, or Patricus, after he became a priest. · Patrick's Pot, or Pota Phadraig, is the Irish name given to the traditional drink of whiskey (no, it's not really green beer) to be taken on St. Paddy's Day, as ordained by Patrick himself. · The Shamrock was used as an emblem by the Irish Volunteers in the era of Grattan's Parliament in the 1770s, before the Act of Union, and was considered so rebellious that in Queen Victoria's time, Irish regiments were forbidden to display it. · St. Patrick died on March 17, about 460 A.D. Web watch For unknown reasons, drinking beer has become a St. Patrick's Day tradition - along with wearing green and celebrating (or pretending) your Irish ancestry. On the off chance that you'll be downing a pint or two with friends on Tuesday, March 17, check out The Ultimate Drinking Game home page. The site claims to be the largest collection of media-based drinking games on the 'Net. The games don't use dice, coins or cards - you watch, read or listen to something, and take a drink whenever something specific happens - i.e., a drink for every time you see midriff on Melrose Place, or match Homer beer for beer on the Simpsons. The guide includes links to 328 different games: TV, 191; movies, 56; computer/Internet, 31; sports, 22; music, nine; and other, 19. For those who prefer games with cards, money and dice or with speaking required, the Beer Drinking Games site also has plenty of liquid fun to offer. Free stuff! Note: We start giving away free stuff on Fridays. Only people who have not won free stuff (other than movie passes) within the last four issues of Fast Forward are eligible to win. Office hours are 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. The only way to get tickets to the sold-out Radiohead show on April 8 at Max Bell Centre is to win! Fast Forward is giving away tickets, a poster and a Radiohead CD library. See the ad in this issue for details. Fast Forward has passes to the March 18 premiere of the critically acclaimed La Promesse, a French film with subtitles, showing at the Plaza Theatre in Kensington. To win, see the ad in this issue for details. We also have two tickets to the Feeding Like Butterflies show March 20 at Wyckham House, Mount Royal College. To win, be one of the first two people at Fast Forward on Friday morning to answer the following question: What is the name of Feeding Like Butterflies' new CD? |