Houdini

The amazing Harry Houdini, or ERIK WEISZ (or about a half dozen other spellings of Erik and or/Weiss...maybe the amazing part is why no one figure out his real name for sure), was famous for his escape acts.   He got out of tanks of water, shackles, straight jackets, chains, just about anything he could find to bind him.

Last fall History Channel had a mini-series about the life of Houdini, with Adrien Brody playing the title role.  I thought it was an interesting show, worth the 2 two-hour segments.

Not sure if the videos from the show's website are showing up for everyone, but they have a handful of clips with commentary at http://www.history.com/shows/houdini/videos

Erik Turner

Erik Turner is the guitarist and co-founder of the band Warrant (they were most popular in the early 1990s)

Their most well known songs are Cherry Pie and Heaven:

Rick's Roadhouse

Ever find yourself in Providence, RI?  Yeah, me neither.  BUT, if by some chance you do, you'll feel right at ease at Rick's Roadhouse.

They've been spotlighted as neighborhood bar of the week...

and got a mural..

 

Rick on Rick Violence: Part II

Well, it's not violent, per se, but Rick Pitino and Richard Pitino are coaching against each other...RIGHT NOW on ESPN.  That's all.

Update:  Pitino the Elder is victorious

Rick Joyner

A few months ago, I had a free Showtime preview weekend.  I happened to catch an episode of one of their series, Years of Living Dangerously.   It was entitled "The Preacher's Daughter," and focused on a daughter of a preacher who was joining the fight against coal plants and poisons to the environment while her father, the pastor of a mega-church, doesn't believe in climate change.  He allows her to make her case, but (spoiler!) ultimately comes away not changing his mind.  Good show.   The father & pastor is Rick Joyner, head of Heritage Ministries.

Here's a good preview for the episode:

TYP EP104 WEB Reaching Across The Divide ProRes from YEARS of LIVING DANGEROUSLY on Vimeo.

Rickshaw (The Song!)

Rickshaw is the tenth track on The Desert Session 5/6, a side project by musician Josh Homme (from Queens of the Stone Age)

Listen to it.  Then tell me how you like it.

Neil Patrick Harris likes Halloween

Happy Halloween from Gotham City!!

A photo posted by Neil Patrick Harris (@instagranph) on Oct 10, 2014 at 2:33pm PDT

Poor Rick

Former rickshow profile Rick Renteria just got canned from his gig managing the Cubs.

Ricky Nolasco

Just to get this in before baseball is completely over...
Ricky Nolasco is a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins currently, but spent a some years playing for the Marlins from 2006-2013 and a brief stint in LA just prior to moving up north.

Here is a link to his career stats, courtesy of MLB.com.

KTWIN does all the work and gives us a "get to know" segment from when Ricky joined the team.

Rick Snyder Does Something

Tesla wants to sell cars directly to the people.  Other car companies are not so fond of that.  

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder today signed a bipartisan bill which Tesla says included language added at the last minute that tries to further undermine their efforts

http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2014/10/gov_rick_snyder_signs_anti-tes.html

http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2014/10/17/michigan-verge-banning-tesla-stores/17386251/

Rick Roundup

I notice a few Rick stories while wandering about the internet news sites today:

First, Erykah Badu hung out on a street corner in NYC singing, and made $3.60

Second, Neil Patrick Harris was just picked to host the Oscars

Next, CNN has a list of the richest person in each state.  Richard Cohen (NH) is our only entrant.

Vote for Rick?

Do you live in Northeast Iowa?  Yeah, neither do I.  But Rick Edwards does.  

And he wants your vote:

The Rick and Jack Show

Another "other" Rick Show?  Sure!

Today we meet Rick and Jack, who have managed to create a very reasonable opening sequence and who sit in front of a green screen, yet don't ever use it to put themselves in exotic locales or the weather map or anything.

Here, they talk about their most embarrasing moments..

Rick's Time Off

Apparently Richard Branson, of Virgin Group, has announced that his staff can take vacations whenever they want.   Sounds fun.  Here's the BBC article.

Ricky Steamboat Gets Unhappy

Even Ricky Steamboat can have a bad day...

YEAR THREE

It's been three years since Rick Show was founded.  THREE!  Let that sink in.  It's pretty ridiculous.  Absurd.  Completely irrational.   THREE years spent scouring the internet for rick-related materials to provide to you all.

Did I mention how absurd that is?  How utterly absurd that feels to me?  Also, have I used the word absurd yet?

Luckily, to balance, I know something that's not absurd.  Not at all.  No way.  No how.

Our annual hidden-camera, Gabe-watching video!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICK SHOW

In hindsight, I probably should have bought a Necker's Jewelers ad @ Kinnick...oh, well.

Richard Kiel

Richard Kiel has died at age 74.

JAWS!  No, not the shark.  The villain from James Bond.

And don't forget he was in Happy Gilmore as well.

Riki Lindhome

Erika 'Riki' Lindhome is an actress, comedian and musician.  She's done bits of work for a number of TV shows and is part of the musical group Garfunkel and Oates.

She's also a noted Breastivist:

Nice Try, Email.

Concerned that the rickin' spammers had forgotten about me?  They haven't.

Henrik here wants to give me a bunch of cash, all I have to do is send him some personal information.  Sounds legit.

   This next one is very interesting.  A puzzle for us.  Is her name Sondra Erick or Sondrae Rick or Sondra E. Rick?  This is important, because I'm not going to respond to her desperate pleas for help until I'm sure of her name.  Probably makes me a horrible person, but that's just how it is.

Sir Richard Attenborough

Sir Richard Attenborough was a British actor, director and producer who died today at age 90.

Rick in Peace, sir.   

Other Rick Shows

Let's try another Rick Show since the last one got such bad reviews.

Ever watched "The Ricky Rick Show"?  I have.  And maybe you will, too.

Behold, Episode 1 and Episode 50 (there are A LOT):

Erykah Badu

Musician Erykah Badu, born Erica Abi Wright, released her first album in 1997.  She's still at work, in the process of making her sixth full album at present.

Check out the full discography here

She's also done a bit of acting, including this bit from Blues Brothers 2000

The Raunchy Rick Show

Remember when we talked about those other rick shows and some of them were really stupid?  I think this one might win.  I hate the internet some days.

Kudos

Quick shout out to taxi driver Patrick "Tiger" Madden for the ride yesterday.   He's authorized by the city, y'all!

Uh oh, Rick Brunson

Former Temple and NBA basketballer Rick Brunson's in trouble, friends.

Former Temple star and Chicago Bull Rick Brunson was indicted Thursday morning on charges of attempted criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual abuse, aggravated battery and domestic battery stemming from his arrest last month following an encounter with a massage therapist


Brunson was charged last month with attempted sexual assault and aggravated battery after an incident April 2 at Life Time Athletic center. The employee at the fitness center had notified Brunson that she would stop giving him massages in 2013, due to a undisclosed prior problem with him, according to the Vernon Hills police report. ... He had formerly booked massages with the alleged victim 10-20 times over a three-year period “always using his name,” the police report stated. On April 2, “she was surprised to see Brunson when she walked into the massage room since the name in the appointment book was not Brunson's but listed as Patrick Ewing." ... According to the record, "Brunson admitted to her that he booked the massage under a different name. ... (She) reluctantly agreed to massage him since he was already there.”The report states that he was already undressed at the time.

Erick Strickland

Erick Strickland was a professional basketball player.  He was born in Nebraska, played at the University of Nebraska, then spent about a decade in the NBA with a bit of success.  What's he up to now?  Here's your answer

According to this site, he's also one of the state of Nebraska's top 100 greatest athletes (as of 2005).  #14

He also gets his hair cut:

Hendrick's Gin

If you like gin, try some Hendrick's.  It's good.  I bought my first bottle a couple months ago, and I'll likely buy more in the future.   Be sure to check out their website, too.

If only there was a Rick-centered drink you could make with your Hendrick's...

Here's what it's about:

There's also this:

Little Richard

Little Richard, born Richard Wayne Penniman, is...well, Little Richard.  He was born in 1932, and has been performing practically ever since.  His first hit was Tutti Frutti, which reached #2 on the Billboard charts, and it just kept going from there.

Dick Jones

The voice of Disney's 1940 Pinocchio, Richard Percy Jones, has died at age 87.  While he went by Dick (or even Dickie), he'll always be Rick to us.  Rick in Peace, good sir.

Erik the Red (Nathan's Update)

While Joey Chestnut won an unprecedented 8th straight Mustard Belt despite a strong challenge from a youngster and The Black Widow was upset in the women's contest, our boy Erik the Red had a decent day for himself:

Official results not posted yet, but I ate 34 hdbs for 4th place I believe. Numbers low for everyone, rain dogs won today. #NathansFamous

— Erik the Red Denmark (@erikdenmark) July 4, 2014

Misc

I'm pretending this cat's name is Rick (he may even be the cat named Rick in this poem I found online) so that I can put this gif here.  It's mesmerizing.

I just can't stop watching

Breaking News: Katie Couric no longer officially a rick?

Per the internet's overly ambitious coverage of anyone who might be considered a celebrity, I've learned that Katie Couric has married some guy named "John Molner."  I find his name be rather uninspiring at a rick level.  Not sure if she officially took his name, but if so at least we'll still have "nee Couric"...

Christina Hendricks

You may know Christina Hendricks if you watch AMC's Mad Men.  If not, you should watch it.

Let's listen to her on some shows!  Pick from Conan or Kelly Ripa.  Choose wisely.

Morning Radio

I had the most amazing commute today, Rick Show-ers!

Flipping through the stations on my radio, I heard a DJ say "and now we're going to talk to someone who changed their name from Rick.  I don't know why you'd do that.  I think Rick is one of the coolest men's names."  And then this fella is on the phone, and he says "Actually, I changed my name TO Rick.  I'm 40 and people still call me that." and proceeds to tell how when he was a kid he had a nickname that wasn't very good ("buglit" or something) and then one day at a Rick Springfield concert a girl asked him his name and Rick was the first thing that came to mind so he went with it.  He's been Rick ever since!  They asked what his birth name was and he said James Richard, so technically his Rick is legit (which the smart hosts did note).  And then one of the hosts says "Well, you made the right choice, I think."   And then I was at work.  Now I just wish I knew why they had that story in the first place.  

Rick Reilly's Retirement (maybe?)

I never did a full post of Rick Reilly, just this Christmas post.  But apparently he's leaving his job as a sportswriter at ESPN and today was his last column.  

Rik Mayall

British comedian Rik Mayall died on June 9th.   He was 56 years old.  Rick In Peace, good sir.

Rik was known from the comedies The Young Ones, Blackadder, and New Statesman, and appeared in the movies Drop Dead Fred and Guest House Paradiso.

What I like is that in looking through his acting roles how often he stayed true to his rickin' roots, playing characters such as Rick, Richie Richard, Richard Twat, Richard Rich, Richard Dangerous, Richard Richard, Richie.  Well done.

News report from BBC, since it feels right to let the Brits talk about it.

Rickhouse Bar

Do you live in, or travel to, the San Francisco area?  Are you a fan of Ricks?

Perfect!  Because they have a bar named RICKHOUSE!

I heard about Rickhouse when I noticed it show up on a graphic relating to bartender Russell Davis on the Spike TV show Bar Rescue.

Here are a couple of short videos (one after the jump) where you get to see drinks from there along with a view of their pretty sweet looking bar area.

Got a House? Let Rick Move It

Guess who is named Rick?  The current 4th generation owner of Goodwin House Moving of Washington, Iowa.  Per their website, Rick started working there when he was just 12 years old and has been in charge since 1983.

Recently, Rick and crew moved the old City Hall (built in 1880s) just down the street to make way for 'progress' in the form of a new development ironically named Old Town Coralville, which apparently is too 'old' to contain the old City Hall (I would doubt anyone on the Coralville City Council noticed this).

That's One Hairy Rick

I really don't have much to say about this other than I don't really know who this Trey Kerby fellow is, but I like the cut of his jib.  Well, I liked it better before he killed Rick.  So now I'm wondering if I shouldn't like him at all.

Is Trey Kerby a rick hero for naming his beard Rick, or a rick villain for shaving it?  Do I put a Rick in Peace tag on this post?  A Villains tag?  I'm not sure what to do!

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2014/05/09/20140509-starters-5.nba//

Update: War of the Ricks

Earlier this year I posted about a Rick v. Rick political lawsuit.  The case went all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court, who ruled yesterday against Rick, and dismissed the case.  PDF of the ruling, here.

Per the Des Moines Register:

Critics of Sioux City Republican Rick Bertrand’s lawsuit praised the court’s decision as a victory for the First Amendment and freedom of speech, while Bertrand denounced the ruling as a failure from the justices to “clean up” American politics.

The long-established precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court would require Bertrand to prove that the attack ad was used “recklessly” and that Mullin and the party knew its claims were false. The court’s ruling dashed Bertrand’s hopes of sending a national message that deceit and lies play no part in political campaigns, he said.

Let this be a lesson to you...or something.   

Donovan Ricketts

Donovan Ricketts is a goalkeeper who plays in MLS.  He's originally from Jamaica and now plays in Portland.  The first video is some guy breaking down the play of Mr. Ricketts, and the second is Donovan himself during training camp when he first started playing in Portland in 2012.  

Word of the Day: Rickrack (or ric rac)

Can you give me the definition (via www.merriam-webster.com/)?

• a flat braid woven to form zigzags and used especially as trimming on clothing 

Can you repeat the word?

• \ˈrik-ˌrak\

Can you please use the word in a sentence?

• The rickrack on that dress looks amazing!

R-I-C-K-R-A-C-K

That is correct.

For an extra treat, a women from The Ribbon Retreat is here to help you make those rickrack roses you've always wanted to make, but never knew how.   "WHO DOESN'T LOVE RICKRACK?"  is how she opens her video, and that's why I chose it (there are an alarming number of videos on making rickrack flowers on the internet).

Ricardo Montalbán

As Rick Show reader "clake" astutely pointed out when we first talked about Ricardo Montalbán, this man was Khan.  Or "Khaaaan!" as many say.

http://youtu.be/0tP5tZ_ekXs

The Newlyrick Game

You may be aware that in the past year or so actors Sirs Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen have been spending a lot of time together, making memories and having fun.

They're the best famous old man friends out there, and the internet loves it.

Just recently the two played a version of The Newlywed Game. It's worth a watch, even if they do make some references that most 'Mericans might not understand.

Rick Hendrick's Big Purchase

If you didn't know already, I'm huge NASCAR fan.  Like, so huge that I can't bear to watch from all the stress.  Yeah, that's what it is.  That's the reason I don't watch NASCAR.

Regardless of my sports-viewing, there are plenty of Ricks that do pay attention to NASCAR.  Take for example, Rick Hendrick (fun fact: his real name is Joseph Riddick Hendrick.  I almost like that better.  Riddick!), owner of Hendrick Motorsports.   He is a retired racecar driver himself, and father of Ricky Hendrick, a driver who died in a plane crash in 2004.

Apparently, there's a thing called the Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Collector Car Auction (Trying saying that three times fast) that recently happened.  This year was the 12th edition of this auction, and Rick was in a good mood.  He dropped a cool one million on the first 2015 Corvette Z06 Stingray.  That seems like a lot of money to me, but probably not to Rick.  He did the same thing last year for the 2014 Corvette coupe.

One additional note is that the money is going to the Karmanos Cancer Institute, so it's money for a good cause.

If you want to listen to an auctioneer, watch this:

If you want to watch people talk about the car, watch this:

Profiles in Rickery: Rickets

Rickets is a medical condition that involves the softening of bones.  It is most seen in children in developing nations, and is due to a deficiency in vitamin D or calcium

And now you know.  If you want to see some pictures of kids with rickets, check out the GIS.

Interestingly enough, it appears that rickets is now on the rise in developed nations, in part because kids now spend so much time inside playing video games and whatnot instead of playing outside, and also in part because everyone lathers up with sunscreen so much.  Most of the recent articles I found were about the UK, so either they are struggling with it more, or the US just isn't talking about it as much.

Branch Rickey

In honor of it being baseball season, and not in honor of it being April Fools Day:

Branch Rickey was a Major League Baseball executive who was responsible for breaking the color barrier in MLB with the signing of Jackie Robinson.  He also drafted Roberto Clemente, created the modern farm system for the minor leagues and introduced the batting helmet.  What a guy!

Mr Rickey is in the Baseball Hall of Fame (obviously).  He was born in 1881 and died in 1965.

This article on him from Biography.com is worth a read.   This short documentary on his life is a lot longer than I normally post, but that's what you have to do sometimes

Ricardo Rodriguez

Jesus Rodriguez is a wrestler of Mexican heritage who has gone by the names Chimaera, Jesse Long, El Local, and Ricardo Rodriguez.  That last one was the best decision of his life, if only because it earned him a spot on Rick Show.  He made his debut in 2006 working some independent promotions.  Ricardo worked in WWE as the ring announcer for Alberto Del Rio from 2010 to early 2013, with their fair share of hijinks (unheard of for professional wrestling!).

The finishing move for Ricardo Rodriguez is the corkscrew moonsault, per Wikipedia.

What I'm personally most excited about is that when I searched for him on YouTube, the first video was of him wrestling the son Rick Show profile Ricky Steamboat, Richie Steamboat.

http://youtu.be/gviRUDHvGv8

Update: Rick Spam

If you'll recall, back in November 2013 we had a "spirited discussion" (by that I mean 4 comments) about spam emails sent by Ricks.  I am pleased to report that I have once again been contacted.  Rickie emailed me with a fabulous offer to buy some luxury watches.  Alas, I am not in the market currently for a luxury watch, no matter how good the sale.  Even a blowout does not tempt me. Perhaps next time, Rickie.

EDIT:  And now Eric gets involved just days later!  

And these luxury watches are 'perfect', unlike those imperfect ones Rickie was trying to sell.  Game On.

St Baldrick's

St. Baldrick's Foundation is a cancer charity that raises funds for childhood cancer research.  They raise a lot of their money because people like to shave their heads for charity.  Per wikipedia, "Since 2000, St. Baldrick's Foundation volunteers have organized nearly 4,200 head-shaving events and shaved over 190,500 heads, raising over $118 million for life-saving childhood cancer research."

The foundation started as a challenge between some friends trying to determine how to give back to the community. Their first event was at a St. Patrick's day party in Manhattan, and grew from there. I guess the name came from the fact that they were going 'bald' on St Patrick's day. 

According to their website, the foundation has given over $100 million in research grants since 2005.  That's nice work.

Rick and Morty

Rick and Morty is a new animated show on the Adult Swim television network (Cartoon Network).  I've watched a couple of episodes since hearing about the show, and it's not bad.  Probably not for everyone, but I might keep watching, and only partly out of my ricking duty.

I have to admit, I get a little exciting looking at the episode names for season 1:

"Ricksy Business"

"Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind"

"Rixty Minutes"

"Rick Potion #9"

Angry Woman leads to Double Rick

Perhaps you've read the recent story about a job bank manager on LinkedIn whose poor response to a job seeker has gone viral.

If you had read the CNN.com article linked above, you would notice a brief mention right at the end of...Rick Uldricks.  That's right, I've discovered another double-rick!

Here's the original article that got him noticed for the CNN reference.  At the risk of being creepy, a quick google search finds that he's on Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN and YouTube, as well as articles regarding his LinkedIn incident.   It appears that Rick is very open about using social media.

Ricky Davis, D-Leaguer

We recently had a post about Ricky Davis, professional basketballer.   We apparently weren't the only ones with RD on the brain, as Grantland.com had an article the other day on what has become of Ricky Davis, and his current life in the NBA Developmental League.

It's a good read, so you should read it.

Paul Ricoeur

Paul Ricoeur (died May 2005 @ age 92) was a French philosopher.  Follow the link on his name if you're interested in his backstory and/or bibliography, I'm not sure that there's a good way to summarize it here.

But, I did manage to find one video with subtitles.  Otherwise I would have just posted a video in French that wouldn't have meant anything to us.

http://youtu.be/ru4G0zKXtps

Breaking News on a Former Newsbreaker

Broadcaster Garrick Utley has died today at age 74.

Anything Goes with Rick & Shawn

Anything Goes with Rick & Shawn is a program on QVC.  You can buy ANYTHING from them!

It's something like this:

http://youtu.be/Ht-OiprPswY

Try to watch more than a couple minutes of that.  I dare you.

Breaking News

I just learned that today, Feb 11, is the 10 year anniversary of the very popular Rick James sketch on Chappelle's Show.

Ricochet

Ricochet is a country band from Oklahoma.  Founded in 1993, they signed with Columbia Records in 1995 and had a #1 country hit in 1996 with "Daddy's Money."   Here's their website.   

I'm not going to beat around the bush here; since they're a country band, I've never listened to any of their music aside from that #1 song while I was finding the link to put on this post. And I really have no intention of listening to any more than that, so I can't say if they are "good."  But maybe someone here is a country fan? (/shrug)

http://youtu.be/0JCM40Uc8gE

Richard Belding

Mr. Richard Belding (played by Dennis Haskins) was the principal of Bayside High in the popular TV series Saved by the Bell.  Those kids sure had some fun times and wacky adventures, and Zack Morris really tricked Mr. Belding good.

He loved to ask the students "What is going on here?"

War of the Ricks?

I just saw this headline at the website of the Cedar Rapids Gazette that read:

The War of the Ricks won’t change our politics

You can believe that got my attention!  Upon reading, it's about two Ricks that battled for an Iowa state senate seat, one of them sued the other for defamation after some political ad shenanigans.  That's really all the breakdown or attention I care to give it at the moment.
Here's a link to the article

The Rick Show

The Rick Show (by Rick Pierce) is...well, you decide for yourself if you can figure out what this is.

The kid's got 6 "episodes" of this.  Maybe I'll share another one sometime.  Maybe.

Rick Ray

Rick Ray is the head basketball coach at Mississippi State University (interestingly enough, he took over from another Rick, Rick Stansbury).  

Iowa Connection: He played his college ball at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa.

His team recently beat in-state rival Ole Miss, and Rick danced.
He made the most out of his 10 seconds in the spotlight.

http://youtu.be/_LZZaVfx42o

Rick Killed a Legendary Creature!

In case you missed it, the media was all abuzz lately with the news that Bigfoot hunter Rick Dyer has claimed to have killed Bigfoot.  Again.  You see, back in 2008 Rick Dyer also claimed to have killed Bigfoot and promised DNA evidence, before admitting that it was in fact all a lie, and his photos were of a rubber ape suit.  But this time, OMG YOU GUYS IT'S REAL!   Rick is now claiming that back in Sept 2012 he killed Bigfoot for real.  He's claiming that he's had medical tests and DNA test done on the body to prove it, except he has yet to actually, you know, produce those results.   

Rick has claimed that he'll have a press conference in February to give us more details, and then he's going to take the body on the road so that everyone can see it, provided that they want to pay.

For now, I guess we'll all just have to wait with bated breath for more info.

http://youtu.be/T7NlafmRSOI

Ricky Davis

Ricky Davis is professional basketball player.   He played high school ball in Davenport, IA, and went on to play for the Iowa Hawkeyes (yay!).  He only played one season, 1997, at Iowa, but only because he decided to take a chance at the NBA draft.  He was selected in the first round of the 1998 by the Charlotte Hornets.  He played in 736 games in the NBA from 1998-2010, with a  44.6 shooting %, 78.1 Ft %, with 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 13.5 points per game.  

Since 2010, he's been a world traveler, playing in Turkey, China, France, Puerto Rico as well as the NBA Developmental League, where he is currently a member of the Erie BayHawks.

Ricky once made a name for himself by trying to get a triple-double by shooting at his own basket in the closing moments of a game

http://youtu.be/WNrehtOZIlY

Ricky also took part in the 2000 NBA dunk contest.

http://youtu.be/zyFWUmoysWE