Sports Trivia: World Series of Poker

A GOOD BET:  EVEN THE LOSER GETS $1.25 MILLION

On Saturday, November 7th 2009 nine men are set to battle it out at the poker table for a chance at $8,546,435. For those who missed out of the millions this year before you get back to poker practice catch up on some WSOP facts so your ready to rock when the 2010 circuit rolls around!

World Series of Poker

Let the chips fall where they may...

  • The November 9 is the nine finalists who will take part in the World Poker Series Main Event. Check back here for updates!
  • A poll carried out by the WSOP shows that 78% poker fans place Phil Ivey as the 2009 favourite.
  • Apparently in this game of chance nobody loses, the 9th place will take home $1.25million.
  • Phil Hellmuth holds several WSOP records including: Most Bracelets (11), Most WSOP cashes (68), Most Final Tables (41)
  • When 22-year-old Peter Eastgate won the Main Event in 2008 he became the youngest person to take home the big prize. He walked away with $9,152,416. Continue reading ‘Sports Trivia: World Series of Poker’

Music Trivia: MTV European Music Video Awards

On the 5th of November the 16th European MTV Music Awards will be held in Berlin, Germany. Before you head to MTV to cast your vote catch up on your VMA, EMA and MTV trivia!

MTV European Music Video Awards

The Nominees Are...

  • MTV was launched in New York on August 1st 1981, its original purpose (believe it or not) was to air music videos 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
  • The term VJ or Video Jockey was popularized by MTV but was actually invented by Merrill Aldighieri and employee of New York nightclub ‘HURRAH.’ The club was a hangout for the future-founders of MTV.
  • Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles was fittingly played as the first music video on MTV
  • In the early years, viewer’s would have to suffer momentary blackness between video’s while someone at MTV inserted a new tape into the VCR
  • The first bands made popular by MTV included Eurythmics, Culture Club, Prince, Bon Jovi, The Police and Def Leppard
  • The rock band KISS publicly appeared without make-up for the first time on MTV in 1983
  • The MTV opening video was the Apollo 11 Moon Landing played to the original theme song. Obviously the ‘Moon Man statue’ awarded to the winners of Video Music Awards is a tribute to these early days.

Continue reading ‘Music Trivia: MTV European Music Video Awards’

Sports Trivia: Is the World Series Really a “World” Series?

We know New York is sometimes called “The World’s Capital…”

For the next five days the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies are taking to the pitch to battle it out for the title of world baseball champion. For the avid fans here are a few facts about the series to help fill the excruciating 24hr gaps between the games. For those of you who are still wondering why the World Series of Baseball doesn’t actually involve the WHOLE world Amuso has the answer for you!

World Series Trophy

Nothing trivial for World Series fans

  • A disorganised version of the World Series began in 1884 however these games are not recognised by Major League Baseball because they were ‘pre-modern baseball.’
  • In 1902, after battling for a monopoly of the baseball league the American League and National league challenged each other to a game of football. The result of their feud was the original National Football League (NFL).
  • The World Series is called as such because baseball, at the time, was not recognised outside of North America, consequently the winner of the tournament was the best team in the world by default.
  • The New York Yankees won the 1949 – 1943 World Series, they are the only team to win the cup more than three consecutive times.

Music Trivia: U2 on YouTube

Millions attend the virtual Rose Bowl concert on YouTube

On the 25th of October as 96,000 fans rocked to U2 at Rose Bowl stadium there was a silent roar of millions of Bono enthusiasts, across seven continents, happily singing along from the comfort of their own lazy-boy’s. With the help of YouTube, U2 selflessly streamed their concert live (and free) for all to see.

So while you are desperately refreshing the U2 channel on YouTube to see if they have reposted the concert, catch up on your U2 trivia!

U2 at the Rose Bowl

U2 frontman Bono at the Rose Bowl

You too can be a U2 expert!

  • There are 4 members of the band: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullin Jr.
  • Bonos’ real name is Paul David Hewson and The Edges’ real name is David Howell Evans
  • The band, including Bono’s future wife Ali Hewson, all met at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Ireland. They were originally called Feedback and then The Hype before they settled on U2 in 1978.
  • In May 1980 U2 released their first international single 11 O’clock Tick Tock and their debut album Boy followed in October.
  • During the recording of their second album, October, Bono and The Edge temporarily left the group over spiritual disputes.

Continue reading ‘Music Trivia: U2 on YouTube’

Halloween Trivia: Questions & Answers

Halloween: Fun Facts

Halloween: Fun Facts

Halloween is the scariest night of the year, the evening when the creatures of the underworld come out to play. But how much do you know about the night of the dead? If all you can think of is pranks, pumpkins and free candy here are a few fun Halloween facts to fill your treat bag!

HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN

  • The word Halloween is shortened from ‘All Hallows Evening’
  • The 1st of November is officially All Saint’s Day and is a celebration of all saints who do not have a special day of their own.
  • Halloween originated as an old Gaelic tradition to mark the end of light season (summer) and the start of the dark season (winter). It was thought that on this night the wall to the underworld was thinner allowing spirits to pass through.
  • People started wearing Halloween costumes so that the ghosts and ghouls who roamed the countryside would not recognize that they were human
  • The traditional Halloween colours are orange for the autumn harvest and black for evil and darkness.
  • There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with the word orange.
  • In 2009 the world record for the largest pumpkin was established in Ohio, United States. The oversized squash weighs 1,725 pounds (782kg).
  • Jack-o-Lanterns were originally carved from turnips and potatoes (photo).
  • Stephen Clarke holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest pumpkin carver with a time of 24.03seconds.
  • Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.
  • The next time there will be a full moon for Halloween is the 31st of October 2020.

Continue reading ‘Halloween Trivia: Questions & Answers’

Movie Trivia: New Moon & Twilight

The film adaptation of the best-selling novel New Moon by Stephanie Meyer is set to hit screens on the 20th of November 2009. The enchanting story of passion, suspense and vampires has created a kind of cult following of ‘Twilighters’ who live, breathe and line-up-for-hours-at-book-signings, all in the name of Bella and Edward.

Here are a few fun facts to feed Twilighters’ bloody thirst for anything Twilight and to help mere mortals understand what the fuss is all about!

New Moon, movie poster

New Moon, movie poster

ALL ABOUT THE TWILIGHT MOVIE SERIES…

Author Stephanie Meyer is a stay at home mother of three who says that the story of “Twilight” came to her in a dream on June 2nd 2003.  She remembers the date because it was the first day of swim practice.

  • The first novel ‘Twilight’ was originally named ‘Forks.’
  • Meyers also penned ‘The Hosts,’ a science fiction/romance novel about an alien race that invades earth.
  • When “Twilight” was released in 2005, only 75,000 copies were printed
  • 3.7 million first-print copies were made of the fourth Twilight bookBreaking Dawn.” Over 1.3million of these were sold the first day.
  • So far the series has sold over 70 million copies.

Continue reading ‘Movie Trivia: New Moon & Twilight’

Music Trivia: This Is It

Michael Jackson… This is it.

A new Michael Jackson song, the first track to emerge since his death, has been given its public premiere. The song has been released on Jackson’s website and to radio stations. It will be the only original song on a double CD due to be released this month.

The song is titled This Is It, and refers to the ill-fated concert tour which was to be Jackson’s first major series of concerts since the HIStory World Tour in 1997. Over one million people were expected to attend the series in total. And Jackson intended to retire after the shows, saying it would be his “final curtain call”.

Jackson’s comments were prophetic. Less than three weeks before the first show was to begin in London (and with all concerts being sold out) he died.

SOME FUN MICHAEL JACKSON TRIVIA:

Jackson made his debut in 1964 with his brothers as a member of the The Jackson 5 and began a successful solo career in 1971. The 1982 album “Thriller” is still the best-selling album of all time. Worldwide, Jackson sold 750 million records in his lifetime.

Continue reading ‘Music Trivia: This Is It’

Political Trivia: Nobel Peace Prize

Nobel Peace Prize

Barak Obama, Nobel Laureate

Barak Obama, Nobel Laureate

U.S. President Barak Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Peace. But Obama is not the only U.S. President to win the prize – three others have won the prize in its 109 year history.

In 2002 Jimmy Carter won the prize for “decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights….” His most notable achievement was the Camp David Accords, brokering peace between Israel and Egypt.

In 1919 Woodrow Wilson was awarded the prize for his role in the founding of the League of Nations (the doomed forerunner of the United Nations). An interesting fact: While Wilson was on a national speaking tour drumming up support of the League of Nations, he was partially paralyzed by a stroke, cut short his national campaign for the League, and had to accept compromises that led to the League’s demise.

Continue reading ‘Political Trivia: Nobel Peace Prize’

Movie Trivia: Where The Wild Things Are

Fun Trivia About the Children’s Movie Director

While we wait for the upcoming release of “Where the Wild Things Are” I looked up the credits and discovered Director Spike Jonze (not to be confused with Spike Lee… who is not to be confused with Ang Lee).

Jonze is known for some great films, including “Adaptation” and “Being John Malkovich.” But the director of the this beloved children’s story is the same director that churned out JackAss: The Movie, JackAss Number 2, and was the producer of JackAss 2.5.

(BTW: Jonze has claimed that at least one Hollywood producer suggested that “John Malkovich” be rewritten as “Being Tom Cruise” – supposedly to appeal to a wider audience of teenage girls.)

Jonze is one of the most renowned directors of music videos, including videos for Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, FatBoy Slim, Weezer, and REM. He’s notorious for the famous Beastie Boys video: Sabotage.

Beyond movies, Jonze got his start in magazine editing, and was one of 3 creative minds behind “Dirt Magazine.”

Bur perhaps the best qualification he has earned is that in 2005 he was offered the opportunity to direct the movie “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” but wisely declined.

Social Media Marketing a.k.a Free Advertising…is it too good to be true?

At Amuso we have a fantastic group of interns who work tirelessly on a variety of tasks. Here, Jenna Marie Madden reflects on her time conducting outreach for us on a variety of social media sites.

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Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube. The four names that form the hub of the online phenomenon that has taken cyber-space by storm: social networking. These interactive sites, and thousands of others, allow millions of people to exchange data, photos and experiences but most importantly they have empowered consumers to voice their opinions and forced marketers to rethink and restructure their advertising campaigns. The majority of companies are testing the waters of social network marketing by allocating a small percentage of their advertising budget to the ‘trial’ of this resource. But for small Startups, like Amuso, social media marketing is their lifeline.

Continue reading ‘Social Media Marketing a.k.a Free Advertising…is it too good to be true?’

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