October 04, 2005

• My high school English teacher was on Irving Layton's Christmas card list. (He sent Christmas cards! Who knew?) So, two degrees from Irving Layton, three for Leonard Cohen and other assorted CanLit icons. Met both Irv and Lenny, but alas, they wouldn't know me by name. Niether would Ondaatje. My old history prof was the daughter of the guy who arrested Ezra Pound in Italy. She also introduced me to Elie Wiesel. Two degrees to each. My old philosophy prof used to teach with John Thomas, father of Dave Thomas of SCTV, and Ian Thomas, the singer. Two degrees. Exchanged emails with Jane Siberry. One degree, albeit shaky.
• Duke Stroud, 3: (the guy in the tower in Top Gun who spilled coffee on himself).. his wife is friends with my wife. John Denver, 2: He was my aunt's cousin. Also we are closely connected to the famous Blue Bell jingles (popular in Texas) by 1 degree... the ad wizard who created and managed it is one of our best family friends. Sadly that's about it; you can tell I'm really reaching!
• My great-grandfather was Manfred von Richthofen's ground crew chief.
• I have a working relationship with Bert Fields, attack lawyer to the stars - he reps Tom, Brad, Matt Damon, Madonna and others. I haven't met them, but apparently Tom is just a really enthusiastic guy, and he really does love Katie. So I'm told. I'm also know Brian Burke, which connects me via one degree to people he refers to as "Wayne" and "Mario" (who count as celebrities to me). I also know Jean Chretien, again via work, and technically he could know my name, but has yet to remember it (I'm somewhat far down on the list of priority names, admittedly). I'm impressed by Leonard Cohen, he's so cool
• what fun.. I'm not clear, however..If i actually KNOW someone, is that "one degree" or "zero degrees"? assuming that's "zero degrees" i'm one degree away from: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer (although, I met them all, they wouldn't know my name), George Romero, and everyone connected with Dawn of the Dead... (son worked on the movie) One degree from Gerard Butler... (Phantom in the movie, now starring in "300" which my son is a producer on) Gerard probably puts me two degrees away from Andrew Lloyd Webber, which puts me three degrees away from anyone that has ever been in one of his movies/productions. One degree from Harrison Ford, George Clooney, Katherine Zeta-Jones, Paul Hogan (all in commercials my kid worked on)...thus two degrees from EVERYONE they know.. Geometric! I know EVERYONE!
• My paternal grandparents (now both deceased) supposedly used to go on double-dates with a friend who would become General Curtis LeMay, back when they were all students together at OSU. This could conceivably net me just three degress to get to FDR, Truman, and Eisenhower. Which might be cooler if they weren't all dead.
• Three degrees from Tom Delay (and, therefore, four from Dubya). (I have a friend who works for a Republican Congressman.) Me->Friend->Congressman->Delay->Dubya->Lots and lots of people. Actually, this is too easy of a game to play in Washington. Needs to be knocked down to two degrees at max here.
• i'm one degree away from: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer (although, I met them all, they wouldn't know my name) Sadly that doesn't count as a degree. They have to know *you* for it to count!
• ...and the first link is one degree, there is no "zero" degree.
• Eugene Debs and my great-aunt Kate and great-uncle Heine were friends. I knew aunt Kate. I spent four nights talking to Elvin Jones after club gigs in Chicago, so that's one to John Coltrane (and anyone else Elvin played with). I know Fred Anderson and Hamid Drake, so most of avant-garde jazz in the world is a one. Whew. At first I was worried that everyone that I knew who knew someone was already dead. I had a co-worker who had tons of chance meetings with celebrities. We called him "Brush" as in "brush with fame". I don't know HuronBob, but I think we live in the same state.
• 3 degrees from Bob Dylan (my mom met him at a party in the 60's, so assume she knew the host, who knew Bob ... 4 degrees if she was there with a friend who knew the host.) 3 degrees from Matt Groening (college friend was a storyboard supervisor for The Simpsons for a couple years; met Matt once or twice but Matt may not know his name. I met Matt back in '89, but he definitely wouldn't know me.)
• 3 degrees from Bob Dylan (my mom met him at a party in the 60's, so assume she knew the host, who knew Bob ... 4 degrees if she was there with a friend who knew the host.) 3 degrees from Matt Groening (college friend was a storyboard supervisor for The Simpsons for a couple years; met Matt once or twice but Matt may not know his name. I met Matt back in '89, but he definitely wouldn't know me.)
• OK...let's discuss the "degree" question.. I always heard it as "x degrees of separation", which means that if my son knows someone, that puts me "one" degree of separation...right??? If I know someone, there are "zero" degrees of separation... We need RULES ! what kind of place is this with no clear RULES!!!! Monkey Rules!
• I have a friend in California whose daughter dated David Lee Roth. My co-worker's friend is a musician currently on tour with David Clayton Thomas (of Blood, Sweat & Tears) I used to work in a television production related field, where I met a few celebrities, none of whom would remember my name.
• Hey Koko, I'll see your 3 degrees from Bob Dylan and raise [err, lower?] you one degree... I'm two degrees from Bob (my old college professor went to school with him at U of M, and told stories about how "Zimmerman would always crash our parties, none of us liked him, he annoyed us. Eventually we just let him stay...")
• unless you are the celebrity in question, there is a degree of separation.
• My grandfather's cousin is a priest who knows the archbishop of my city, who was installed by name by john paul 2. Me -> grandpa -> priest -> archbishop -> pope.
• Depending on how you count, I am 1 or 2 degrees away from Steven Seagal. I know Kim Taylor, a martial artist down in Guelph that also runs a business making wooden weapons and selling other related goods. Steven Seagal, when in Toronto for some movie or other, had his limo drive him down to Guelph to go and buy a wooden cane from Kim. It's not the pope, but hey. He could probably kick the pope's ass, actually.
• I have too many to play cos I know famous people, but I will just say: Danny LaRue - 1 degree. :D
• ...and the first link is one degree, there is no "zero" degree. To thine own self be true.
• When I was at college there was six degrees of seperation between the British royal family and some serious East London gangsters with me in the middle.
• I heard you was on the grassy knoll, wibbles.
• In my radio days (late '70s, early '80s) I got one degree away from a "hub" (somebody who knows EVERYBODY) when I wrote jokes for Gary Owens. His recent book "How to Make a Million Dollars With Your Voice (or Lose Your Tonsils Trying)" was a thinly-disguised autobiography filled with celebrity namedropping. Then there was the writing gig where I replaced Tom Arnold after he quit to go work with his wife Roseanne. Growing up in L.A.: I went to school with a kid who grew up to become TV exec credited as the co-creator of "Walker Texas Ranger". And in junior high, I was bullied by one of the sons of Steve Allen. And the very first time my parents took me out to a fancy restaurant after we moved to L.A. when I was five, we were two tables away from Walt Disney and I got his autograph. Then there's this guy, a sharp satirical writer who took Polaroid SX-70 pictures of celebrities then manipulated the emulsion into impressionistic art while the celebrity watched (an ingenious way to get the attention of somebody famous for up to 10 minutes). He did the same for me at a party (regrettably the picture was lost before either of us could put it online).
• Six degrees of separation, the concept and full academic history. HuronB, according to the Wiki definition, six degrees means that there are 5 intermediaries. Thus: HuronB -> StoryBored -> my sister -> sister's workmate -> workmate's sister -> John Malkovich. Count the arrows and ye be 5 degrees of separation from Malkovich. And also i must repeat, for each pair of people with an arrow between them, they *MUST KNOW EACH OTHER BY NAME*. Maybe I was on the set with Sly Stone, but unless he *knew* me it don't count! I don't get an arrow to Sly. (violators of this rule will get spanky spanky!)
• My best friend's cousin is Jeff Ross, and we do know each other. Nice guy. We danced at her wedding. What is that, zero degrees? She's also the cousin of Max Weinberg, who I also met, but I doubt he knows me. Also, I was at a party in central Jersey last Halloween with the drummer (or maybe it was the bass player?) from Skid Row. Didn't meet him, in fact, didn't even really see him very well, but you can't beat the cheese factor on that one!
• Thanks to work: 1 degree from Paul Vocker 2 degrees from Kofi Annan (briefly met, but would not know my name) 2 degrees from John Bolton (yikes, which puts me 3 degrees from Chimpy!?!? Someone give me a knife...) Thanks to family: 2 degress from Buffalo Bill (My great-grandmother was a next-door neighbor when she was a little girl). 2 degrees from Lawrence Welk (my grandfather played in his original band, and along with their respective wives, double-dated). 2 degrees from Resse Witherspoon (My sister is on first-name basis with her) 2 degrees from Qaboos ibn Sa’id Al ‘Bu Sa’id (My father was hired to design some aspects of one of the royal palaces. On a trip to the US, he had my father paged over the public announcement system at the Target Center just so he could say "Hi!") 2 degrees from Robert Ballard (My uncle is a former colleague) And thanks to myself: 2 degrees from John Waters 2 degrees from Kurt Cobain Ahhh, there are others. That's my list for now...
• *err, that should be Paul Volcker*
• HuronB <-> StoryBored <-> my sister <-> sister's workmate <-> workmate's sister <-> John Malkovich Oops just realized that making those arrows double-headed explains it better. 5 degrees = 5 of those <->.
• Oh -- old law prof of mine has a good friend/client by the name of Jackie Chan. Jackie stays at Mendel's house when he's in T.O. Jackie's cool. I also had a philosophy class with Alexandre, son of Pierre. I'll flatter myself and say that Sasha remembers me, which puts me at two degrees from Old Man Trudeau himself, and three degrees from Castro and Nixon and the Queen and other assorted heads of state and/or lickers of the public trough. I was also cussed out in a public audience by Dick Pound of the International Olympic Committee. That would put me within two degrees of a lot of sport-types, crooks, and fascists.
• Yes, I killed Elvis. And I'd do it again in an instant.
• I am two degrees from Bo Bice, the latest runner up in the American Idol contest.
• I am two degrees from John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban," as I used to work with his brother at the record store. And due to that, potentially three degrees from Osama Bin Laden! I am also one and two degrees from most Seattle-based musicians, due to either my past stint at the record store or through my boyfriend, who is a drummer in a local band here. Also, one or two degrees from all the Dayton, Ohio-based bands, since I grew up there and still visit friends.
• I just remembered my best: I'm one degree from Terry Corcoran, executive editor of the Financial Post. That puts me two degrees from most of the big corporate CEOs in Canada. Please, no tomatoes.
• I am two degrees from John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban," as I used to work with his brother at the record store. And due to that, potentially three degrees from Osama Bin Laden Holy sh*t
• Gives rise to the possibility of being a great patriot or a great blackmailer, I suppose.
• Does anyone know or recall if John Walker Lindh ever did actually meet Osama? I'm kind of curious now.
• My spouse (in her professional capacity, she works in publishing) corresponds regularly with Umberto Eco. Being two degrees from Eco must make me at most three degrees from anyone who is anyone in the literary world.
• 2nd degree to Coop, which puts me at 2nd and 3rd to a lot of subculture artists. 2nd degree to someone who competes in Rock Paper Scissor Tournaments, and 1 degree to someone who plays semi-professional mini-golf. I think I'm 3rd or so to some politicians, but who cares about them.
• Some others I forgot -- an old English prof of mine studied under Tolkien at Oxford. Won the Newdigate prize as well. My thesis advisor defended his doctoral dissertation attacking Paul Ricoeur in front of Paul Ricoeur.
• I'm three degrees from Patrick Warburton, and that's all that matters. Oh yeah, and #2 is related to the Cairns, as in Lance and Chris, so we're a few degrees from pretty much the entire international cricket universe. (It's debatable whether they'd know him by name, though, except by looking at their family tree.) Two or three degrees from many All Blacks but that's easy in NZ.
• My former housemate is the Punk Rock Girl, so 1 degree between me and her, and 2 degrees from the DeadMilkmen. I often see Lawrence Ferlinghetti in line at the cafe where I buy coffee. Can't say he knows my name, but he surely knows the name of everyone who works there, and many of the boho patrons. Thus 2 degrees form several directions. My Uncle has met several Popes. They might even know his name (he's a Jesuit that has been involved in some controversy). 2 degrees. I did an independent-study as an undergrad with Peter Saul. 1 degree. I fucked George Bush last night. 0 degrees and all kinda angles, baby!
• I know an awesome guitarist named Rick, who was asked to play with Ozzy Osbourne in the 80s. So 2degrees from Ozzy, and 3 degrees from just about any other rockstar (I assume Ozzy has met most of them at some point). Also, my late grandfather had a girlfriend late in his life who was from Hackensack, NJ. When she was young, Sinatra wanted to marry her. So 2 or 3 degrees from Sinatra.
• I spent a summer studying in London with DJ Qualls (Road Trip, Hustle and Flow). So 1 degree there. I interviewed photographer Mick Rock and he remembered seeing me at a gallery opening two weeks before. 1 degree. I worked with someone who is good friends with Monica Lewinsky, post internship. 2 degrees. When a good friend was the first person to purchase a piece of art through the Bowieart.com website, David Bowie called him personally to thank him. 2 degrees. My boyfriend's best friend won Emmys for writing on the Dennis Miller Show and the Chris Rock show, and also wrote for SNL... so 3 degrees from all those funny guys. And following the John Walker Lindh thread, my step brother pulled Sadam Hussein out of the "spider hole". Probably doesn't know his name, but I bet he remembers him. 2 degrees.
• ALF's been fucking me up the ass for three weeks now.
• Oops. That was one of those too much information moments, wasn't it? I mean er... My wife met Tom Hanks once. And Forrest Gump's met everybody who was anybody from the fifties to the present day.
• ALF's been fucking me up the ass for three weeks now. Looks like I'm 2 degrees from NickD.
• Yeah, and you're hogging all the covers!
• On a slightly related note, a guy I was in a writing class with invented the term "penis cousins" to describe the relationship between two men who have slept with the same woman.
• Me-->a friend who'd been Roy Scheider's nanny-->Scheider, Helen Hunt, Christopher Reeve, Isabella Rossellini, dunno who else Me-->Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL)-->lots of political types but I don't know which ones, presumably including Barack Obama. Maybe me-->?????-->Tina Fey. I knew lots of people doing drama stuff at UVa, and I just betcha some of them knew her.
• 2 degrees from Jane Goodall (altho DID meet, briefly) 2 degrees from Ethan Hawke 2 degrees from Bjork 3 degrees from Robert Plant
• I'm actually Kevin Bacon IRL, so I've got you all beat.
• I'm two steps from John Goodman and Brad Pitt (and therefore three from much of Hollywood). My dad once gave up his bar table to Tom Cruise, who offered to buy him a drink, but I'm sure he wouldn't remember him. Also, an ex of mine was raised by a musician who knew a ton of famous musicians -- one of the Beach Boys (I can't remember which) used to occasionally babysit her when she was little. Also, she claims (and I don't think she's bullshitting) that the Mighty Mighty Bosstones wrote the song "Patricia" about her.
• Hey, stray, me too on the Goodall one. That means you and I are, what, four or five degrees apart?
• Two degrees from the Moore-Kutcher-Willis family, so three from most of Hollywood and the Kabbalah crowd. Two degrees from most of the British Parliament. One degree from the Wrigleys (as in gum, Field, etc). Two degrees from the Flaming Lips and QOTSA.
• an old English prof of mine studied under Tolkien.. Okay Capt'n, I'll trade you my two degrees to Conrad Black for your two degrees to Tolkien.
• Everyone I've ever photographed knew my name (they were told) but I don't think that many of them remembered it. That doesn't count, does it. 2 degrees from the Beatles.
• Hey, stray, me too on the Goodall one. That means you and I are, what, four or five degrees apart? Yeah, so now how does monkeydom affect degree-ality? As Queen of monkeydom, do you, tracicle automatically have one degree to all of us? Now it's true that many don't know each other's *real* names. But if someone were to say "Captain Renault" or "goetter" or "sugarmilktea" or zanshin, koko, nickdanger, livii, kimdog, plegmund, hawthornewingo, bluehorse and beeswacky or mothninja, chyren, alnedra, jb, jacobw and drjimmy and middleclasst (*good grief i can't stop*...) to me, even though I don't know real names, I think I could still say I know them. So couldn't we reasonably build on each others' separation quotients? *hides ulterior motive of becoming four degrees away from Manfred Von Richthofen*
• I played in the PYP under Jacob Avsholomov, so I'm sure I'm no more than two or three degrees from anyone who's anyone in classical music in the last, oh, seventy years - he knew Bernstein and Copeland at least. The only other thing I can find is, I'm three degrees from Camille Paglia via my uncle John and Harold Bloom.
• I'm beginning to see how everyone in the world can be no more than 6 degrees from each other, especially if we do indeed count online fora.
• I'm 2 degrees away from Quentin Crisp, Don DeLillo, Aaron Copland, Pat Metheney, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, Bruce Hornsby and pretty much every prominent film composer. I'm probably within 2 or 3 degrees of most significant American composers and jazz musicians.
• 2 degrees from Peter Boyle. An uncle was a student when Boyle taught at West Catholic High School in Philadelphia. Still gets a Christmas card from him every year.
• This is fun to think through. 3 degrees: Nelson Mandela, George Herbert Walker Bush, Abdullah Ibriham/John Dollar, Lou Reed 2 degrees: Zubin Mehta, Roky Erickson, Frank Black, Kristin Hersch, Bob Dylan, Jeff Tweedy, Winona Ryder, Carrie Fisher, Billy Corgan, Oliver Stone, Woody Allen, Aaron Spelling, Barbara Walters, Debbie Harry 1 degree: E.L. Doctorow, Peter Carey, Sharon Olds, Dave Eggers, Craig Newmark, the Baldwin brothers
• My former housemate is the Punk Rock Girl My personal favorite! Two degrees from Dee Snyder. Two degrees from a whole pile of sci fi authors, such as Jody Lynn Nye, Mercedes Lackey, etc. Two degrees from Chaka Khan, who's related to my fiance.
• One degree from disco diva Thelma Houston (she was my neighbor, set up her e-mail account). Two degrees from most people in Hollywood through a woman who is a professional beard for an old-school Hollywood guy. Two degrees from ZZ Top because a friend used to play guitar with them. I live near Burbank, so I'm a few degrees from a lot of people in TV and movies. L.A. is weird because if you know anyone in The Business, you are only a couple of degrees from everyone...
• Oh, and two degrees from R Kelly, I'm told (belatedly).
• Also... There was a picture of Thelma and Pope JP II in her living room. Also her and Reagan, so maybe 2 degrees from them. Strange.
• and pretty much every prominent film composer. I'm probably within 2 or 3 degrees of most significant American composers and jazz musicians. Jesus dude! If you could only bottle that. Let's see, for real... - Zero degrees from a musician-cum-extra in A Christmas Story - One degree from ... lots of local bands, but that don't count. - Two degrees from James Frey, Tommy Lee, Inner Circle, Michael Jordan - Three degrees from Cameron Crowe, P. Diddy (none of these overlap)
• My undergraduate advisor went to grad school with Carl Sagan.
• Also, my mom once waitressed for Dan Marino (that's Dan Marino, for those outside the US).
• This thread is one degree away from Nipsey Russel AND William Shatner AND Leonard Nimoy.
• Gramps was friends with a lot of future greats and not-so-greats in the Army, like Eisenhower and Friedendall. Dad's Godfather was one of them. The story was he walked up to the gates of Peking and chalked a big "X" on them for the artillery pieces to hit.
• I had a conversation with Walter Koenig (Chekov on star trek) once at a convention when I was eight, and he remembered my name at the autograph session later that day. I think that's it. It's probably for the best. I have squeeing fangirl tendencies.
• Can't believe I forgot this: Courteney Cox sat at my junior-high biology table (she was "Cece" at the time). So I guess I'm two degrees from David Arquette and any number of E! Magazine types. I've certainly not kept up with her since high school— we weren't friends, and we moved in completely different circles. Indeed, I had no idea that Cece had morphed into Courteney until I saw something about "Friends" in a newspaper in the nineties. It is nevertheless a very strange thing.
• My wife worked with a girl that was in Sarah Michelle Gellar's/Freddie Prinze Jr wedding party. My little sister took the guys from Blur out to pancakes in Olympia, WA. In high school I held Mark Bruener to one catch for 5 yards and in college I sacked Jon Kitna. And once at a party I got cock blocked repeatedly by Jason Finn, the drummer from The Presidents of the United States of America.
• Ohh,and my friend dated Kim Murphy. So I got that going for me...which is nice.
• OK, 1 degree from Paul Sorvino (he was my next-door neighbor growing up) and thus 2 degrees from Mira Sorvino. (She was my neighbor too, but I doubt she remembers me. I was pretty young at the time.) My boss used to work with Jim Cramer of Mad Money. A friend from college is now a writer for the Daily Show, so I'm 2 degrees from Jon Stewart. My dad was once offered a job by Jon Corzine when he was still just a bond trader at Goldman Sachs, and used to chat on the phone with Robert Rubin.
• 2nd degree to James Cameron, and hence, 3rd to Arnold, and 4th to Dubya (ugh). Second to Pablo Neruda. Second to Pablo Escobar (through an ex-president, no less). Third to Amy Sedaris, Peter Gabriel, Shakira. 2nd to Fidel Castro. Wow! And second to Che Guevara! 3rd to Allende, the dead president. 2nd to people tortured by Pinochet. 3rd to the previous pope, who is now dead. 3rd to the current one, who is not. 3rd to Harry Truman. 3rd to Jennifer Lopez :) 3rd to Alex Rodriguez. 2nd to Fernando Botero. 2nd to Antanas Mockus. 2nd to Jessie Helms 3rd to John Edwards (the Senator) 1st to the Flying Spaghetti Monster
• 2 degrees from Roland Barthes, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Jacques Lacan, Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. Also 2 degrees from Gene Simmons.
• My uncle played in Vaughn Monroe's orchestra so I'm 2 degrees away from all sorts of hip cats.
• Indeed, I had no idea that Cece had morphed into Courteney until I saw something about "Friends" in a newspaper in the nineties. I remember back when her notable claim to fame was "wasn't she that girl that danced in that Bruce Springsteen video?"
• One degree: Noam Chomsky, George Galloway, Gloria Steinem, Ken Macleod, Dennis Kucinich, Harvey Pekar. Two degrees: George Bush. My uncle went to Andover with him. He was very very polite but his friends were not.
• And by one degree I mean direct knowledge - writing a book-o-interviews is a great way to meet people.
• I forgot another one -- my grade ten religion teacher taught Jim Carrey when he was in grade seven. Thing was though, that Jim Carrey was a nobody when I was in grade ten. She'd go on and on about this kid who had a show called the Duck Factory, which of course, none of us had ever heard of. She'd ramble on about this backward loner who she turned around by letting him goof around in front of the class, suggesting that she was the one who 'created' Jim Carrey. For all of her involvement in his career, she had no idea that he was then on 'Living Color' -- and had she made that reference, we'd have known what she was talking about instead of us thinking she was on crack. We later gave her a massive emotional breakdown. She was running around the portable, screaming "Do I sound NORMAL to you?!?" Good times, good times... That same high school produced Linda Evangelista a couple of years before I got there. You could could find her in the group graduation photo in the hall -- she had massive mall hair. Clearly a metal chick. So there's probably two degrees there, and from then on to Fabien Barthez and such. Years later, I got to use a changeroom in the Levi's flagship store across from Bloomie's immediately after Linda. She was beautiful, but her hair was a wreck from all those chemicals. Was with some slimeball metal guy. Plus ca change...
• `two degrees from one of the Jesuits who was present at the exorcism which prompted the novel and subsequent movie The Exorcist (his roommate at seminary was one of my theology professors). `one degree from Kurt Vonnegut, if by one degree one can mean sharing a conspiratorial glance and a silent, if convivial, smoke outside a lecture hall at Washington University prior to Mr. Vonnegut's lecture there several years ago. `two degrees from actor William Holden, who hails from my adopted hometown. That one's solid. `one degree from Congressman Jerry Costello, D-IL (a legacy of my reporting days). There was a point in time when I had his cell phone number, which I had cause to use on several occasions. I daresay he might remember my name today after a bit of prompting, as I was rather kind to him in print on those same several occasions. `one degree from former St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire, at whom I once threw a peanut (miserably failed to hit, but got his attention and a brief, good-natured finger). Squishy at best, that.
• I forgot my pride and shining joy! /sarcasm My ex high-school girlfriend dated Corey Haim before we got together. He was in town to shoot Dream A Little Dream [A lot of which was filmed in my high school, whoo hoo!]. What an ego booster at the time when she fondly recalled "dumping" him in public. From what she told me, he was basically a sexist slob [at the time anyway], and the breaking point came during a night of dancing at a local club. After witnessing and hearing about his numerous advances on other women, she jumped on the stage after the live band took a set break, grabbed the mic, and gave him the 'ol heave ho... She said there was applause from the audience. Apparently he tried to patch things up afterwards, but apparently he wasn't successful.
• The hits, they just keep a-comin'.... Two degrees from both Desmond Tutu and Richard Milhous Nixon. 1st to the Flying Spaghetti Monster Hey, that means I'm two degrees from you, Camilo!
• I'm one to three degrees from pretty much all US based living burlesque stars. I know some strippers personally, and my phone book is filled with friends who are professional dommes and such. I'm one to three degrees from probably most all musicians thanks to a entertainment lawyer friend who does stuff like has Morrissey 'round the house for tea. Much cooler then when Phil Collins came to call, that's for sure. Aside from working with these people, he's also friends with many, many in the music industry. I also know or have met plenty of queer activists who are generally known for some books or films or music or something. Through them knowing lots of queer acts like the Indigo Girls and what not. There's plenty of people in the BDSM sub-culture that I know too. Like I've had several dinners with Madam Cleo Dubois. Who, I might add, thinks my dental fantasies are especially sadistic. She's with Fakir Musafar, who I've not met but did some work for, so I have various degrees with various modern primitvists too. I know plenty of Chicago based artists, and am probably two degrees from all of the people in the Chicago Imagists. I've had many lovely conversations with Carl Wirsum for example. My girlfriend dated the director of Boys Don't Cry and had an platonic evening with the leads in that film. She also knows many leaders in the GLBT activist and scholarly communities. I'm three degrees from Kevin Bacon. I've been regularly accused of dating/sexing my way through Chicago's "A-List" lesbians--activists, artists, musicians, dommes, porn stars, etc. I hung out with a star from the L Word, though I could never remember her name--even then. I'm probably a couple degrees from most of the big names at VIACOM too. A friend of mine has a House music label and is a fairly successful dj, so I'm in with lots of those folks. Celebrity is something that I've really never paid much mind to though, like I've recently had run-ins with The Donnas and John Popper, but didn't even realize who they were until someone told me later.
• I've been regularly accused of dating/sexing my way through Chicago's "A-List" lesbians--activists, artists, musicians, dommes, porn stars, etc. Tried that in the 80s, couldn't make it work - nonbinary, I salute you! forgot to add: `one degree from Jim Rose, of the eponymous Circus Sideshow, late of Lollapalooza.
• Nonbinary, you reminded me that I'm one degree (1.5?) from Molly Devon, who wrote 'Screw the Roses...' (I've met her and went to school with her daughter, so she probably remembers me.) That puts me 2nd to a lot of another subculture. Hm. Famous is relative, I guess.
• though I could never remember her name--even then. We need a ruling here... does it count if you don't remember their name?
• Depends on if you left before they woke-up.
• I have a friend who knows Matthew McConaughey, and another who's second cousins with Michael Stipe.
• I can't believe that I keep forgetting people. Two degrees from both Neve Campbell and Kathleen Robertson. I even have elaborate courting rituals developed around our mutual friends. Not that I'll ever get the chance. But they're good to go nevertheless...
• My mom starred in Jim Morrison's senior film project at UCLA, which I guess puts me two or three degrees away from lots of rock stars. Damn, I wish a copy of that movie still existed! p.s. Hello Pallas Athena! Here I am! Are you happy now? :)
• That is *awesome* trivia, speedlime!
• In inverse importance in my life: My son knows Javier Grillo-Marxuach. Who? Well, after graduating Huron High we'll figure he did some college, but then was a writer on Seaquest DSV. No bells yet? He was one of the key writers on The Pretender and on Charmed. So what? Well, now he's the executive writer or head writer (forgive my TeeVee industry ignorance) on _Lost_. No, I don't know what's in the tunnel. My mom worked with Jim Morrison's cousin and with some guys from the Ides of March (one-hit wonders "Vehicle") but the lead of the Ides was also responsible for "Eye of the Tiger". Mom's 80 now, but she still likes teh rock'n'roll. A friend of mine in LA--a former ecdysiast herself (I wonder if she knows nonbinary?)-is friends with pron-star Nina Hartley. Does that give me a 3-step to the Hedgehog? Why, it must. A friend and former business associate's uncle was a monk at the Trappist Abbey at Gethsemani in Kentucky. He (the uncle) was a close associate of THomas Merton. So that's three to Merton (and all the people he knew are 4s--including the photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard. Take a look at Meatyard's photography and then tell me that the band REMs name doesn't stand for Ralph Eugene Meatyard). Meatyard connects me--albeit at a 5 with Minor White, Annsel Adams and so on.
• Hm. Famous is relative, I guess. Famous is seriously relative. I've even had people come up to me as pathetic fanboys, or gave me "that" stare from across a bar. I do some things that get me in the public's eye, but nothing that seemed to warrant the token celebrity-dom that I sometimes have gotten. We need a ruling here... does it count if you don't remember their name? I think it should count double since it makes them the "little" people. Curious George: How many LA monkeys know about forty zillion celebs? When I was there this summer, granted for an industry thing, it seemed like there was celebs falling like rain everywhere and I probably first degreed myself with hundreds of people in a couple of really, really busy 8am-1am work days. It humored me too that I was able to keep my "no name dropping rule" until the middle of my last day in LA when I bumped into someone from a film fest, gave my regrets for not being able to make it as "I'd love to have seen ____'s film getting shown." She laughed with me when I told her that I failed my modesty plan.
• One degree from Sonic the Hedgehog. Two degrees from Mario (I was playing Luigi and I think he knows Mario by name). Also, I saw spiderman kill the green goblin but I don't think he'd remember me because he was pretty busy at the time.
• Hmmmm... Well, an ex-boyfriend was close friends with Diana L. Paxson's son Ian. My ex-boyfriend had a standing invitation to events at Greyhaven. Since the ex was known by Ian's mother, that puts me at 2 degrees to Diana Paxson, and three degrees to Paxson's friends, such as Marion Zimmer Bradley, David Bradley, Poul Anderson, and Paul Edwin Zimmer, among others. I did go to Greyhaven myself while I was with my ex-boyfriend. I Diana Paxson, MZB, and Poul Anderson in 1988 during the publication party for Paxson's The White Raven, but I doubt they would have remembered me even if you asked them even five minutes later. I'm also good friends with two different gay boys who Chase Masterson got to know at BayCon. The fun part of that was watching her pull one of them up on stage while she was performing. She then proceeded to strip him on stage as she sang during the 2005 convention. So, two degrees to a singing, gay-boy-stripping, Star Trek: DS9 actress.
• Err... I met Diana Paxson, et al.
• On hindsight, my connection to Pablo Escobar is only third degree. I don't want the DEA stopping at my door all of a sudden because of some typo. And fourth to Luciano Pavarotti 3rd to Daniel Baremboim
• Who out there can get me to Groucho Marx in five degrees or under?
• Oh, I forgot I dated a girl that used to hangout with Flavor Flav. I always felt intimidated...by Flavor Flav, go figure.
• StoryBored: I can, if you believe the Oracle. My uncle knew Don Calfa, so if I know you you're five from Marx. Do I know you?
• Tho I 'spec other monkeys can do better.
• Hm... wonder about Karl Marx...
• Ooh... I just learned I'm two degrees from Annie Liebovitz... and so three from a whole lotta people. Like John Lennon... David Byrne... Michael Jordan... Hunter S. Thompson... Andy Warhol... feels like cheating. ok. I'll quit now. Dinnertime.
• This just occurred to me... An ex-girlfriend's friend is one of those wacky types who corresponds with serial killers. She's friends with most all the biggies. So I'm in relatively tight with some of the most dysfunctional people in the country! Whoo! I can thank HBO showing Serial Mom for this one.
• One of my camp-mates at Burning Man works on The Simple Life. So two degrees to Paris and Nicole, and some rather sticky connections thereafter.
• StoryBored: I can, if you believe the Oracle. My uncle knew Don Calfa, so if I know you you're five from Marx. Neat link, fractalid, thanks! Do I know you? Hi! I'm Storybored! You must be Fractalid. Erm, so now i'm five degrees from Groucho?
• I don't know anyone because I live in a cave.* bunchanamedroppers But I got taglines! MonkeyFilter: We need RULES ! what kind of place is this with no clear RULES!!!! *and I have depantsed Petebest
• 2 degrees to Prince Charles.
• I'm sorry, Hawthorne, I had no idea.
• StoryBored, I cannot verify at this time, but I think I can do 3 degrees from Groucho. During my teens, an older woman (who at the time worked for a large casting company) took kind to me (Hell, she gave me a car, but took it back after I got a DWI). Anyway, she was the daughter of a famous Hollywood bigwig during the 40's/50's. Her apartment was filled to-the-gills with old movie reels, scripts and costumes from old sets, and thousands of signed head shots (all of which were originally given to her father, and passed to her when he died). I am almost certain there was a signed Groucho photo hanging in one of the bedrooms of her apartment (I offered to help her move out - what a freeeeekin nightmare!! Hundreds of boxes filled with movie scripts = HEAVY). That said, assuming her father did know Groucho, that would put me at three degrees from him. Oooh, and I happen to be a big fan...
• Oooh, and I happen to be a big fan... Three degrees from Freedonia! Hail! hail, Freedonia, land of the freeeeeeee....