Lists about things and other stuff

bandnames
Wordy von Writish

A weird bandname, do or don’t? (A list of ten weird ones)

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Imagine starting a band. You assembled musicians and now you need a name. This is a tricky part, because what if your band makes it big and there will be merchandise! Fans sporting your bandname on their shirts, coffeemugs with the name on it and posters all around town. The last thing you want is an embarrassing or stupid name for your band, right? You want something cool, but also something that sticks and something people will remember… Weird names tend to stick, but should you do it or not?

Let’s take a look at ten weird bandnames that make you scratch your head.

1 Hoobastank

This band is famous for their song The Reason, a nice rockbalad from 2003. You probably recognise the song, but the bandname is nothing short of weird. The Californian foursome claims that there is absolutely no reason behind this name, though. It was a highschool in-joke, that just stuck.

2 Alt-J

This bandname does have a backstory. The combination Alt-J is needed on an Apple-computer to produce a Delta, the scientific symbol for change. Alt-J tries to change the music-scene with their experimental Indie, folk and art-rock.

3 Chumbawamba

You will probably be able to sing along to the superhit Tubthumping. Is this title not familiar? How about: “I get knocked down,”? Yes. Thát song. So what about the name? The origins aren’t exactly clear, but rumour has it that it came from a dream in which the mens and womens bathroom were named Chumba and Wamba.

4 The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza

This bandname implies at least something non-threatening, but when you see to what kind of band it belongs, you do a double take. There is no tapdancing whatsoever. Click here to listen the the album Danza III: The Alpha – The Omega by this grindcoreband.

5 Bowling for Soup

The original plan was to name the band ‘Bowling for shit’, but they dialled it down to soup. A good choice, in our opinion.

6 Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab for Cutie is named after a song by another band with a weird name: Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. The American indierockband started in 1997 and they have 8 albums to their name.

7 Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All

Also shortened to OFWGKTA, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All is a rapformation from the US. The hip-hop collective is known for their nonchalance. In one of their songs they just call themselves ‘Wolf Gang’, which might be a nod to Mozart, but looking at these guys, we doubt it.

8 Toad the Wet Sprocket

This name stems from the geniusses of Monty Python’s Flying Circus; it’s an Eric Idle-reference. The band formed in 1986 without having a name and Toad the Wet Sprocket was supposed to be something temporary.

9 Dananananakroyd

Personally we really like this one. A play on both actor Dan Akroyd and the ‘nananana’ heard in the original Batman-theme, it just sticks. The Scottish band exists since 2006 and call the music they make ‘fight pop’.

10 Butthole Surfers

We’re fairly certain this name does not need an explanation. This band is well-known and well-reviewed within psychedelic rockcircles. Before the name Butthole Surfers stuck, the performed under a new name every liveshow; Ashtray Babyheads, Ed Azner is Gay and Fred Astaire’s Asshole among others.

series
Wordy von Writish

Why House of Cards and Designated Survivor are IDENTICAL!

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While binging both series on Netflix, we have come to the conclusion that House of Cards and Designated Survivor are oddly similar. Of course they are both about the struggles in the White House, but there are certain elements that are a little too similar, if you know what we mean. We made a list and it’s not short. Boy, it’s not…

Warning: SPOILERS! If you’re not up to date on HoC or DS, there are some major spoilers on both series ahead. You are warned.

1 Default president

Frank Underwood and Tom Kirkman have not been elected president. Frank became president after Walker resigned due to a threat of impeachment over alleged illegal campaign donations. Tom was the Designated Surviver during the State of te Union when someone blew up the entire Capitol leaving only him and two congresspeople behind to run the country.

2 Seth

Both presidents have guys called Seth that are close to them. And damn, are they skilled! Seth Grayson is Underwoods Director of Communications, who can accomplish almost anything. Seth Wright was a speech writer, but he stepped up when someone else bungled a pressconference. Now he is the White House Press Secretary under Kirkwood.

3 Congressman Peter

There is a Congressman named Peter in both series, and both Peters aren’t behaving like exemplary Congressmen… Peter Russo is the suave divorced thirty-something guy that likes a drink. A lot of drinks. And hookers. Peter McLeish was present during the bombing and the sole survivor of said bombing. This is not a coincidence, of course. Both Peters get murdered, albeit by different people.

4 Petrov

If you say Russia, you say Petrov. Apparently it’s the equivalent of the name Smith, or something, because in HoC ánd DS the main Russian guy is called Petrov. President Victor Petrov is the taunting and rigid adversary of Frank Underwood. They have a very strained relationship, which comes to a tumultuous climax further down the road. In DS Ambassador Petrov agrees to a three-way deal for spyswapping, but one-ups Kirkwood on this.

5 Islamic terrorist organisation

Both presidents have to deal with a cliché Islamic terrorist organisation. In HoC there is ICO and in DS we meet Al-Sakar. There is also a main terrorist arrested and questioned in both series, who is not cooperative at all.

6 Shooting

Both presidents get shot and have to undergo a pretty serious surgery. Frank has to get a new kidney, while Tom has to have some bulletfragments removed. Luckily, the surgeries are succesfull and our presidents can pick up where they left off: running the country.

7 A beautiful young woman on the scent

Of course there are skeletons in closets in both series, skeletons that are dying to get out. And who better to unleash said skeletons than a beautiful young woman. Zoey Barnes is a reporter in HoC who discovers a lot of bad stuff about Underwood, with whom she had an affair. Hannah Wells is an FBI-agent in DS who investigates the bombing, with some very unnerving results.

8 Romance between beautiful ex-lovers

Ah, the ex for whom you still harbour romantic feelings. Haven’t we all been there? No? Well, Remi Danton (former Chief of Staff) and Deputy House Minority Whip Jackie Sharp are in deep, in House of Cards. It doesn’t work out, so she marries a generic default guy, but ends up with Remi anyway. In Designated Survivor pretty boy Chief of Staff Aaron Shore and Special Advisor Emily Rhodes have the sparks flying all around, until, you know, shit hits the fan.

9 Scandal about pregnancy of the First Lady

Scandals tend to happen when someone is under scrutiny of the entire country, not to mention the press. First Lady Claire in HoC has had multiple off-record abortions (that you can see here), which almost cause a riot, but she manages to deflect it, like the lovely scheming mastermind she is. Designated Survivorbeauty Alex Kirkman became pregnant with her eldest when she just started dating Tom, so is he really the father of her son? This potential scandal is diffused quite quickly as well.

10 Presslady and speechwriter hook up

In House of Cards journalist Kate Baldwin hits it off with speech writer Tom Yates. The former speech writer in DS, Seth Wright, has some nice tension with journalist Lisa Jordan. I guess wordish, writish people tend to find each other, romantically or otherwise.

11 Security agent gets shot

What is a president without his security detail? Unsafe. That’s what. Edward Meechum, Frank Underwoods main security guard and very… erm… close friend loses his life when Underwood gets shot. In Designated Survivor guard Mike is in hot persuit of a shooter, but he survives and is back on the job quite soon. Both heroes manage to kill the shooters.

12 Collegues of the young woman on the scent

In both series the young woman that is on the scent of a conspiracy has some collegues that aid her in her quest: her boss and a close male collegue/friend. In both series one of them is imprisoned after being set up.

13 Declaring war

Both Frank Underwood and Tom Kirkman decide to declare war at some point in the series. One major difference is that Frank does it to defuse another pending scandal, while Kirkman’s intentions are not quite that personal.

logo's
Wordy von Writish

10 logo’s gone wrong

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When starting a company, website or business, it’s a good thing to have a logo. Preferably something people will recognize and remember. At Reasonish we have a feather, to indicate the writing part, for instance. Luckily for us, a blog is not such a difficult thing to choose a logo for. Other businesses might have less luck. A logo can go horribly wrong, sometimes with pretty funny results. We’ll take a look at the worst logo’s that actually exist or existed.

10 logo’s gone wrong. You’d almost think some of these are intentional.

1 Arlington Pediatric Center

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This is wrong on so many levels…

2 Catholic Church’s Archdiocesan Youth Commission

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Um… No. Just… NO.

3 A-Style

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Doggystyle

4 Pepsi (older version vs 2008-version)

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Can you see a fat, protruding belly in the new logo?

5 Institute Of Oriental Studies

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Yes… insert it right there…

6 Junior Jazz Dance Classes

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Spot the female torso in this logo.

7 Kudwara Pharmacy

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Taking it from behind?

8 Megaflicks

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Fonts matter.

9 Safe Place

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It feels rather suffocating, though.

10 Kids Exchange

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The words ‘kid’ and ‘sex’ should never appear that close together.

things
Wordy von Writish

Things you should always have spares of

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When you own things, as everyone does, you know these things will fail you one day. Or you will run out. With a lot of stuff, that isn’t a problem of course, as you just go out and buy new stuff. For a few things, however, running out or them breaking down are catastrophic!

Here is a list of things you should always have spares of.

1 charger for your phone

Imagine your phone’s battery running on empty without having a charger. Or rather, imagine your charger suddenly flipping your off and dying, with only 5% left on your phone. Oh, the humanity… Heed this advice: make sure there is a spare cable somewhere in your house in case of emergencies.

2 sugar

If you’re a sugarjunk, like we are, running out of sugar is kind of a big deal. Of course you can go to that hot (or elderly) neighbour to borrow a cup of sugar, how cliché. Or you just make sure there is a package of sugar somewhere in your house, specifically bought to save you in case you run out.

3 coffee

This one might fall into the junk-category again. We at Reasonish experienced this horror quite recently when the coffee machine broke down. As if by magic we started to crave coffee like crazy, drooling and trembling like chihuahua’s. It was sad and a little embarrassing. Keep extra coffee in your cupboard and only touch it when you have to.

4 batteries

Alright, this is kind of a given, but you’ll be surprised how many people don’t have spare batteries lying around. When you use a remote control, having spare batteries is pretty important, because most tv’s aren’t controllable without it. Ten years ago you could still change the channel or volume by hand, but that luxury has come and gone. We won’t even mention other important things that need batteries, like a flashlight and… other… household appliences…

5 cat-/dog-/other animalfood

If you run out of stuff, it’s your own fault, but your pet shouldn’t be the victim of your bad judgement. Keep an extra bag of food for your Kitty or Rex somewhere, so he or she (or they) will never have to be hungry. And no, your lasagne is not a suitable replacement food for any animal.

6 deodorant

This one is mostly for the benefit of people around you. You’d think that running out of deodorant isn’t really a big deal, but someone who has to smell your sweaty pits wouldn’t agree. The thing with smell is, that you get used to it at some point. You’ll probably don’t even be able to smell your own stink. Keep a roller of some kind in your bathroom. Just a tip.

These were some very important things you should always have spares of.