April 23, 2012

Wikipedia Sentence of the Day.

"The line 'And so on, and so on, and scooby doobie doo' would in 1969 at least partly inspire the naming of the title character in the popular Saturday morning cartoon series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!."

Classic Wikipedia, in style and substance.

I was reading about the great Sly and the Family Stone song "Everyday People" — which, by the way, Dolly Parton covered — only because Meade happened to say "Sometimes I'm right and sometimes I'm wrong" after the internet resolved a dispute in my favor. The dispute was over the phrase "raising the bar." What bar?

What bar we were talking about raising is another matter? Any bars you think should be raised?

30 comments:

Chip Ahoy said...

The high jump bar, Shirley.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Some are of the opinion that certain nuisance bars ought to be razed.

Rocketeer said...

Curiosity compels me to ask which bar Meade thought was being raised in the phrase? I don't ask to be nosy (though I guess it's a nosy question anyway) but false etymologies are sometimes far more interesting than the real ones. Perhaps I'd rather spread Meade's version.

ndspinelli said...

Sly is a homeless addict in LA. Many people who were @ Woodstock[I have several friends who went..they actually bought tix!!] will tell you that although many other acts got bigger billing and are more of the Woodstock myth, Sly stole the fucking show..hands down. Just watch "I want to take you higher" in the film. My friends say they have NEVER, to this day, seen a better performance and the crowd was like a southern black church, jumping, singing and dancing. Amazing since the crowd was lily white. One of my friends who say this is a true Dead Head.

Then there's the fat, stupid alcoholic Sly in Madison. He may end up w/ the same fate as the enormously talented and troubled real Sly.

Anonymous said...

I think the bar should be raised when it gets too low to lean upon it.

edutcher said...

Scooby doobie doo, actually, scooby doobie doobie, goes back at least to the beats in the 50s, IIRC, so I'd get a second opinion on that, given you're relying on Wiki.

As for raising the bar, apparently it comes from track and field, although someone Meade's age might have the local saloon in mind.

rhhardin said...

You must be this tall to ride.

Joaquin said...

Wouldn't mind raising this Bar.

http://www.askmen.com/celebs/women/models_300/373_bar_refaeli.html

Meade said...

I thought monkey bar but I thought wrong.

Strelnikov said...

Line is actually, "I can be right and I can be wrong...".

Strelnikov said...

On the other hand, why nitpick? It makes no difference what bag you're in.

David R. Graham said...

The RC Bishops have raised a bar - much to my surprise, who thought they would cave. Parallels Vatican's raising bar on religious profession: no political activists hiding in habits. Discipline is the root of morale, and their relationship is directly proportional.

wyo sis said...

I always thought it had to do with the height of a gate. But that's probably a ranch thing. I remember being small enough to slip between the bottom bars of our gates as a child. When I look at them now I wonder exactly how little I was when I was running around under the cattle's feet.

wv heies hefera
How's that for coincidence?

ndspinelli said...

Nitpicking is her specialty. She teaches Constitutional Nitpicking 101.

Rick Caird said...

Obama hope we lower the bar for Presidential performance.

traditionalguy said...

Beware! The Bar Raisers of The World are watching you.

Sometimes it can be a good thing to set ever higher standards. That improves the students' talents; PROVIDED, that the students have great endurance.

Didn't the original American Idol get popular because people liked watching Simon Cowell raise the singing bar with cruel pleasure, while Paula Abdul would show selective mercy.

But crafty ones still use bar raising to break their disciples' spirits.

Christy said...

From Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Crossing the Bar"

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

...
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

Wince said...

...at least partly inspire the naming of the title character in the popular Saturday morning cartoon series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!.

Whatchu talkin' 'bout Althouse?

There is a yellow one that won't accept the black one
That won't accept the red one that won't accept the white one
And different strokes for different folks
Oh sha sha-

I am everyday people.

Wikitorix said...

Scooby-Doo is just a nickname. His actual name is Scoobert Doo.

dbp said...

A horse jumping bar?

dhagood said...

i was at a bar yesterday, and i raised my glass until it was empty. i was driving, so there were not additional glasses to be raised.

bah.

Wince said...

About that same time Sly Obama was helping inspire the naming of the "Scooby Snack".

prairie wind said...

Better raise the limbo bar for me. Oh...nevermind. It's a limbo stick.

Rocketeer said...

I thought monkey bar but I thought wrong.

Oh.

Well then.




That's not interesting at all.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

A rising tide raises all bars.

Dick's Birdhouses and Thoughts said...

I visited some bars that should have been razed and met some people who were raised in the bar. I will never visit those places again.

Guildofcannonballs said...

Because of the frightening concept artwork that Silverman and Hanna-Barbera presented (Pictured left), the show was decided to be too scary for children and rejected. However, fate had more in store: on his flight home, Silverman heard the scat phrase "scooby-dooby-doo" in Frank Sinatra's hit single Strangers in the Night. Silverman had an epiphany and decided to rework the show entirely. Too Much, renamed Scooby-Doo, would team up with Shaggy to form a comedy duo. The two would take center stage to balance scares with laughs. After another pitch, CBS purchased Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! for the upcoming fall season.

Tom G said...

Raising the bar is discriminatory against those of us who are altitude challenged.

Casey said...

Yes, that Wiki post exemplifies good writing: "The Family Stone featured Caucasians ... in its lineup, as well as females..."

Oy.

gadfly said...

From Metafilter:

In 1966, Frank Sinatra took some flack for his "doobie doobie doo" at the end of "Strangers in the Night". It was somewhat incongruous in the slow, romantic ballad, but many of his hardcore fans wanted to hear more, and legend says it inspired both the founders of The Doobie Brothers and the creators of Scooby Doo.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:38 AM on February 27, 2011