Dad joke

Ok so this is a pretty obscure Lincoln reference, but here is a joke that was sent to me yesterday. Probably most amusing to Liberal Party supporters, but still here it is:

An Australian man died recently and went to Heaven, as he stood in front
of the Pearly Gates; he saw a huge wall of clocks behind him.

He asked, ‘What are all those clocks?’

St. Peter answered, ‘Those are Lie-Clocks. Everyone on earth has a
Lie-Clock. Every time you lie the hands on your clock move.’

‘Oh’, said the man. ‘Whose clock is that?’

‘That’s Mother Teresa’s’, replied St. Peter. ‘The hands have never
moved, indicating that she never told a lie.’

‘Incredible’, said the man. ‘And whose clock is that one?’

St. Peter responded, ‘That’s Abraham Lincoln’s clock. The hands have
moved twice, telling us that Abraham told only two lies in his entire
life.’

‘Where’s Kevin Rudd’s clock?’ asked the man.

‘Rudd’s clock is in Jesus’ office. He’s using it as a fan.’

Abe saves the day again

Naturally I had to see Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian as soon as it came out. I mean, any movie that promises a three-story, marble Abe Lincoln strolling around DC has to be good right? In fact, I deemed it worthy of $70 Dendy Premium tickets…reclining, while wait staff bring food and drinks, and gourmet choc-tops. Mmm.

I actually enjoyed this one more than the first. Although I absolutely love the Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian just has so much cool stuff! Plus having introduced the main characters in the first movie they were free to get on with the fun and general silliness.

I won’t give away the story, but it will be no surprise to find Abe full of wit, wisdom and of course coming to the aid of our hero and heroine.

Abe’s voice is done by Hank Azaria, who also plays Kahmunrah and does the voice of the Thinker. Hank is best known for his character voices in the Simpsons.

I liked Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart too, she is full of spunk.

Get Lincolnised

Thanks to Kate for sending me my Lincoln reference for the day!

You too can get Lincolnised as part of the Chicago History Museum’s Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial celebrations. There are exhibitions, tours, and multimedia downloads. In fact, you can even be a part of the action by Lincolnising yourself! You can view the results on flickr.

There are two fantastic online exhibitions: Lincoln and the West, which is based on the autobiography that Lincoln wrote for the 1860 presidential campaign. It has some lovely photos, maps and drawings. The other exhibition is The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, which highlights the fundamental changes in Lincoln’s attitudes and opinions, and how they saved America.

Lincoln – best seller?

Today I was sent a Lincoln reference from Harpers magazine. Vol. 318, No. 1908, May 2009 edition to be exact. In their Index section of random facts they stated ‘Average number of books about Abraham Lincoln released every week since 2007: 1′.

Now that might not seem like all that many, especially given how easy it is to self publish these days. But a little research revealed that with over 50,000 Lincoln books published to date, only Jesus and William Shakespeare can claim more!

With 2009 marking what would have been Lincoln’s 200th birthday, there is re-newed interest and new books are coming thick and fast.

A list of 155 essential Lincoln books is provided by Daniel Weinberg at the Abraham Lincoln Bookshop in Chicago. The list hasn’t been updated in quite a while so it is missing all the really good recent stuff, but it’s a good place to start, for all those Lincoln nuts wanting to start their own collection.

Worse rap than John Wilkes Booth

The Family Guy has had a few references to Abe Lincoln, but my most recent (and perhaps the funniest) is in episode five, in season seven.

John W Booth sits behind Abe Lincoln at Ford Theatre.

About 16 or 17 minutes in, Stewie and Brian are in their new nightclub when Andy Dick shows up and rapidly makes it the uncoolest place in town. Stewie explains that anywhere Andy shows up gets a worse rap than John Wilkes Booth, and they go to Abe and Mary sitting in Ford Theatre with John behind them. John is trying to see around Abe’s hat, while Abe makes obnoxious comments, talks loudly on his phone etc. Eventually John is so fed up that you see him slide a pistol out of his coat. Full of deliciously inappropriate and un-politically-correct references.

Watch the clip

MEN?

Today I was sent a Lincoln reference in the form of an article from the Canberra Times, Lincoln blood test. A check of the news showed that Cardiologist John Sotos is requesting a DNA test on a sample of blood held at the Philadelphia museum.

Sotos, like many others, believes that Lincoln had a rare (literally one in a million) disease called Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia (MEN) type 2B. The disease has the side effects of promoting extreme height with long limbs and a small, thin head. MEN usually causes a large lower lip, muscular involvement and thyroid cancer.

Lincoln was said to be quite ill in the weeks before his assassination, and the decline in his health over the year before was marked. Would Lincoln have died soon with or without Booth’s help? That’s what Sotos is trying to find out.

Or so he says. The cynic in me suggests that Dr Sotos is striving for a bit of celebrety status and I suspect he wants to increase sales of his book (let’s give him a plug shall we) The Physical Lincoln, increase his appearance fee, and get himself more TV advisor roles such as the one he currently has on House. But maybe I’m bing too harsh, perhaps he really does have a calling to promote this rare disease and put an end to the next generation of basketball players.

Me vs Obama

So, who likes him more, me or Obama?

Since I started my obsession with Lincoln I have been given and managed to track down a few very decent books on the subject, including Dale Carnegie’s own Lincoln the Unknown, Gore Vidal’s Lincoln, Thomas Keneally’s Lincoln, Faulkner and Kepner’s America – It’s History and People, along with Chuck Wills’ almost-picture-book-quality Lincoln – The Presidential Archives, which comes complete with copies of his letters and other documents.

But more recently I was lucky enough to be given two books, the very funny Secret Lives of the Civil War by Cormac O’Brien, and Pulitzer Prize winner Team of Rivals – The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Team of Rivals is toted around as the book that inspired Barack Obama.

With Obama sharing my obsession with Lincoln (ok so maybe he got in first, he is older than me after all, but I maintain that I am more devoted to my obsession than he is), there are references everywhere. Obama giving his address at the Lincoln memorial, and the 200th anniversary since Lincoln’s birth celebrations, have meant that photos of Linc even found their way onto the front covers of lowly Canberra newspapers! There are references in his speeches, references to Obama referencing Lincoln, and speculatioin on Obama’s next Lincoln references!

So my Lincoln sightings have certainly been bumped up a notch, but I still prefer the really obscure references when I can get them. For example, while browsing the magazine stand in a local newsagent the other day I did a double-take as my eye caught the top of an old black and white photograph I recognized. I pulled out the magazine to find I had stumbled across a Smithsonian Collector’s Edition magazine on Lincoln. It had been imported from the US, and I’ve never paid $21.50 for a magazine before, but I wasn’t about to leave it out of my collection!

Image courtesy of www.zazzle.com

Behind the wall

My Lincoln reference for today was sent to me by a friend who saw a CNN story about The Tunnel, a movie about the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel under New York City that supposedly contains hidden objects and secrets that would unravel many of the world’s current mysteries. Some of these secrets include the missing pages from John Wilkes Booth, the assasination of Abraham Lincoln, and information on conspirators involved in Lincoln’s death.

Of course there are rumoured to be other treasures, like a perfectly preserved locomotive from the early 1800s, but what is that when there are Lincoln mysteries to uncover!

The filmmakers are raising money from the public to finish the shooting and excavation, so let’s find out what’s behind the wall!!

Did you know?

My uncle sent me a link to the latest ‘Did you know?’ video on YouTube. A video that was put together to make you think about the future and give you a few eye-opening stats along the way.

YouTube then suggested I watch ‘Did You Know?: The 2009 Inauguration Edition’ and thus gave me my Lincoln reference for the day. Did you know that the first course of Obama’s Inaugural Lunch was served on a replica of Lincoln’s china, displaying the American bald eagle, US Coat of Arms, and a border of ’solferino’ (a colour popular back in the 1860s).

And of course, but this was already a well-known fact, Obama was sworn in on Lincoln’s bible, which hadn’t been used at an Inauguration since 1861.

There you have it folks, another day in the world of Lincoln references.

Anton is free

Anton is free, and it’s all thanks to Lincoln. Or is it??

Last night, watching Season Three of Dexter, Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) tells Anton (David Ramsey) he is free. His response…’Have been since Abe Lincoln’. Of course she meant that he didn’t have to be a police informant anymore, but I was happy to have my Lincoln reference for the day!

Anyone else have any good ones? Anyone? Come on, share with me! Surely I can’t be the only one…can I?

Image courtesy of www.imdb.com