Quotes from Off the Beat and Path (2 of 6): John Waters

When we last posted 12 days ago, Robin Williams was still alive, everyone from Bill Gates to Didier Drogba to the Florida State women's volleyball team had not taken the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and Ferguson, Mo., was a suburb of St.Louis no one outside the Show Me State knew of.

So, here is our quote from the Baltimore hipster, film director and author John Waters:

"I pride myself on the fact that work has no socially redeeming value."

Happy Valentine's Day from Popeye

Greetings from the Pyongyang Public Library here in Pyongyang, North Korea, (not really where I am at), where I wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day even though I personally despise this day with a passion.

Today, we thought we'd send Happy Valentine's Day greetings from Popeye who won over his love Olive Oyl the old-fashioned way by beating up his rival Bluto after taking in several cans of spinach. Obviously, doing such things in the real world can lead one to spend a night at the Mecklenberg County jail in Charlotte, NC.

There are at least two statues of Popeye in the United States: one is in Crystal City, Texas, and the other is in Chester, Illinois.

We actually have a vinyl copy of the above-pictured record which was originally released in the 1960s, though we got our particular copy as kids in the 1970s.

The cast of the record includes Jack Mercer as Popeye, Mae Questel as Olive Oyl and Jackson Beck as Bluto.

The original Popeye comic strips were released in 1919. The first cartoons came out in 1933. And, a film version directed by the late, great Robert Altman came out in 1980 with Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall in the title roles. Alas, the film did not get good reviews.

But, reportedly, a merry-do-round from the set of that film is a tourist destination in Malta, where the movie was filmed!

SIDEBAR: Tonight, in honor of Valentine's Day, Turner Classic Movies is showing the vintage Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical "Top Hat" at 8:00 p.m., New York time.

Sidebar Two: The answer to our Rabbit Ears Quiz is D) 66, that is the age of Burt Ward who played Robin in the original "Batman" tv show in the 1960s.

The Rabbit Ears Quiz- Mork and Mindy (Entry 2 of 12)

Today, we continue our series on tv shows which infiltrated my developing years with a quiz question regarding "Mork and Mindy" (1978-82), which in my lasted much longer than the four seasons it was actually on the air.

Many young folks may not realize that 'Mork' was actually a spin-off of the very popular '70s sitcom "Happy Days." Mork, played by Robin Williams, visited the Cunnigham family in suburban Wisconsin during the fifth season of "Happy Days" in a strange episode entitled "My Favorite Orkan."

In spite of being a ratings bonanza during its first season, 'Mork' began to take a nose-dive in popularity during the show's third season. And, in the final season, Mork and Mindy were dubiously married.

Mork was from the planet Ork, and he was given instructions by a supreme deity named Orson. Minday was played by Pam Dawber.

Many people who haven't seen the show in years (it ran on Nick at Nite from 1991-95), may have forgotten that it was the rare sitcom to take place in a college town. So, we are asking for the name of that college town, where one also find a clock which is supposedly always accurate.

Your choices are:

A) Provo, Utah
B) Iowa City, Iowa
C) Boulder, Colorado
D) Lawrence, Kansas

Good luck, and sorry we have no prizes to give you, not even a cat toy!

SIDEBAR: I wanted to wish an Eid Mubarak to all of our Muslim friends, especially those living in Provo, Utah! Amazingly enough, I read that a surprising number of Muslims attend college at Brigham Young University.

And, though one may not associate UFOs with the Muslim world, there is indeed a UFO Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, which I have actually been to.