To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, "People who don't like this sort of thing will find this isn't the sort of thing they like." Over the last two days, we've revealed the not-so-sordid secrets of many Yahoo!s by letting them publicly confess some of the things they're proud to have never done. We conclude those revelations today with a grab-bag of confessions that didn't fit into any other categories (or that came in late -- you know who you are ...). They mostly (and unsurpringly) deal with pop culture, but there are one or two surprises to be found. Emily: I've never read any of the "Harry Potter" books, or seen any of the movies, and I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon. I’m just obstinate, and the fan fic/slash kind of creeps me out. Heather: Somehow, despite all the random piercings and multi-colored dye-jobs my friends got as teenagers, I managed to make it through my youth without so much as having a needle held to my ear, or a bottle of hydrogen peroxide tingling on my scalp. Richard: I’ve never seen a movie in which Melanie Griffith could act as a convincing human being. Never. Mitzi: I've never seen "Eraserhead." I refuse to watch "Dancing with the Stars" (I don’t care how popular it is!). I've never seen "Citizen Kane" (I’ve rented it a few times, but never got around to seeing it). I've never read "1984." (I know!) And I've never seen the "Oprah" show (not even when I’m at home sick with the flu or something). Adrianna: My bike was stolen before the training wheels were taken off, so I never learned how to ride a bike! I have tried as an adult, but every time I get on, the wobbly feeling makes me hop right off. Jasmin: I’ve never been to a frat party. I attended a JC before transferring to a private women’s college. No boys equals no frat parties. Mike: I’ve surely donned some trendy fashions in my day (pegged pants, flat top, MULLET!), but I never thought those wannabe-a-Spaceman sunglasses from Oakley were cool, and I certainly never owned a pair. And to end this festival of soul-bearing, we present this following rant: Brian: I’ve never created a MySpace or Facebook profile -- and never intend to. I've purposely stayed away from MySpace not because it's "addicting" (according to some people), but because I just don't have time -- or the need -- to look at a page that could give one a seizure. (MySpace users are the biggest offenders in this regard.) What makes MySpace intolerable is the plethora of choices one can pick from to create a page. It's like when a 5-year-old wants to cook something for the first time for his or her parents. What does the kid do? They grab every ingredient that looks appealing and dump it all into one bowl, which makes for the most inedible steaming pile of crap one could imagine. That’s what MySpace pages are: "Let's add an obnoxious background, and sprinkle it with some bright fonts which make reading the page impossible! And for good measure, let's add a music video and an audio clip to the mix so that the connection speed is like a 14.4 K modem!" Can you say "Geocities page, circa 1997?" Considering most people on MySpace are teens and have the most time to kill, it's understandable they dominate the population of the site. However, I remember when I was in high school, I kept in touch with my friends the old-fashioned way ... IN PERSON. I guess face-to-face contact can't compete nowadays with a quick message and an amusing photo pasted in a comment field of some random guy getting hit in the nuts, can it? Suggested Sites... Why I Hate Harry Potter - but I guess you'd have had to read it to hate it, wouldn't you? Why Citizen Kane is Overrated - on the other hand, maybe the ill-informed shouldn't watch stuff. Dancing with the Stars - know your enemy in order to avoid it. How to Ride a Bike - it's never too late to learn. Mullet Madness - "business in the front, party in the back"

Directory categories: Harry Potter Books, Piercing, Melanie Griffith, Oprah Winfrey Show, Social Networks

Archived under: 1984, Actors, Biking, Body Art, Books, Children´s Literature, Citizen Kane, College and Universities, Dancing With the Stars, David Lynch, Education, Entertainment, Fan Fiction, Hair, Harry Potter, In Character, Movies, MySpace, Oprah, Reality TV, Social Networking, Yahoo!

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In the words of Samuel Goldwyn, "include us out!" One of our favorite things to do at The Spark is to compare notes with our fellow Yahoo!s -- and you, our readers -- on things that we have in common. In the past, we've polled folks about things we hate or which celebrities we had our first teen crushes on. In researching items for today’s Spark, though, we noted that August 31st marks the 35th anniversary of the last network airing of "The Partridge Family." Seeing this, I was reminded of the fact that I've never seen an episode of either "The Partridge Family" or "The Brady Bunch." Now, I like to think of myself as something of a maven on popular culture, so how have I dodged these particular bullets for nearly 40 years? Well, it hasn’t been easy, I'll admit. As a kid, I just thought they were stupid (I still do, for that matter) and after a while, because of their endless reruns, it became a challenge to avoid them, and a point of pride (not to mention a great conversational gambit) to say I’d never watched them. With that fun fact in mind, I decided to ask my fellow Yahoo!s to detail things they had never done; the kind of thing that, when they would mention them, the average person would probably reply "really?" Looking at the list, it's surprising to me how many of them revolve around television. For example: Liz: I have never seen a full episode of either "Sex and the City or "Desperate Housewives." Chandra: I have never watched ""The Simpsons." Are those characters supposed to be funny? (Maybe we should keep this one anonymous ...) Micaela: I've never actually watched a whole episode of "Lost." (I am a fan of "Heroes," though! (Editor's note: I've never watched "Heroes" myself.) Brian: I've never watched a single episode of "Survivor," I think I should win something for that. We're not just avoiders of television, though; there are other aspects of entertainment and pop culture of which we're blissfully aware: Jasmin: I have never seen the original "Star Wars" movies, "The Big Lebowski," or "The Godfather." Thanks to my friends and family, who insist that I have thus far led an incomplete life, all of the aforementioned films are in my Netflix queue. Richard: I've never danced the Macarena. I've also never seen Leo and Kate in "Titanic." Of these minor accomplishments, I am boastfully proud. And just what are you blissfully proud of? Tell us, and we'll be back tomorrow with more Things We've Never Done. Suggested Sites... C'Mon, Get Happy! - this means nothing to me. Brady World - neither does this. Survivor Sucks - these people wish they hadn't seen the show, either. Wikipedia: I've Never Seen Star Wars - these are folks after our own hearts. Stuff I've Never Done, That's Always Done In the Movies - Cindy Swanson either hangs out with the right people or the wrong people.

Directory categories: The Partridge Family, The Brady Bunch, Television Comedies, Movies and Film, Television Shows

Archived under: 1970s, Actors, Anniversaries, Entertainment, In Character, Lost, Movies, Reality TV, Star Wars, Survivor, TV, The Simpsons, The Spark, Yahoo!

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Mr. Laurence Tureaud, aka Mr. T It's Mr. T's world -- we just live in it. Born Lawrence Tureaud in Chicago on May 21, 1952, Mr. T is an American original with his trademark Mohawk, distinctive snarl, overabundance of jewelry, and sage advice. He was already a bodyguard to the stars when he was discovered by Sly Stallone while competing in the "World's Toughest Bouncer" competition. Stallone cast him as the overly-aggressive Clubber Lang in "Rocky III," which had Mr. T battling and belittling the aging Rocky Balboa. In the end, of course, Rocky defeats Clubber, but Mr. T had made his mark on American pop culture. After his bout with Balboa, Mr. T picked himself up off the mat and joined The A-Team. His crimefighting persona got him a sitdown with Nancy Reagan, but his larger-than-life personality won the hearts of fans. Over the past quarter-century, Mr. T has been a comic-book character, toured the wrestling circuit, and starred in his own reality-TV series. He can even breakdance and sing! We'll stop our jibba-jabba now and enjoy a candy bar on the occasion of Mr. T's birthday. We suggest you do the same. Suggested Sites... I Pity The Fool - sage advice and worldly wisdom from Mr. T. We dare you not to listen. Mighty Fist of Mr. T - definitive resource of Mr. T vs. X resources. Mohawk Media - for all your Mr. T needs. The Mr. T Jibba Jabba Archive - listen up, fool! TV.com: Mister T - he even had his own cartoon.

Directory categories: Mr. T, The A-Team, Mr. T vs. X, Reality TV, "Rocky" Movie Series

Archived under: 1980s, Actors, Birthdays, Cartoons, Celebrities, Comic Books, Entertainment, Movies, Mr. T, Reality TV, TV

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Capone's vault was underneath his HQ, here, at the Lexington Hotel In 1986, television reporter Geraldo Rivera was a little down on his luck. The year before, he'd been fired by ABC for criticizing the network's decision to not air a story describing the romantic relationship between Marilyn Monroe and both Robert and John Kennedy. He was a respected reporter at this point, but his career was in a lull. Then Geraldo embarked on an opportunity that would dramatically alter the course of his career -- for better and for worse. On April 14th of that year, Rivera hosted a television special called "The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault." The program was based around the rumors that former mobster Al Capone had stashed a great treasure within the extensive catacombs beneath his Chicago headquarters at the Lexington Hotel. Geraldo planned on opening the long-sealed vault on live television and, along with his audience, discovering the hidden treasure held within. However, at the end of the two-hour special, the vault was opened to reveal nothing but dust and debris. An embarrassed Rivera awkwardly ended the show, and the special that had gathered so much hype went out with a whimper. Despite the anti-climactic ending, the special drew a huge audience and subsequently launched Geraldo into the stratosphere as the King of Trash Television. He would go on to host his outlandish eponymous talk show, "Geraldo," and later return to journalism (of a sort), bringing audiences all the melodrama of that particular brand of from-the-heart reporting that makes Geraldo "Geraldo." Suggested Sites... Geraldo.com - Geraldo's official site. Geraldo at Large - Geraldo's current show on Fox News. Al Capone Museum - photos, articles, and other stuff about Al Capone.

Directory categories: Geraldo Rivera, Al Capone, Real-Life Mystery, Talk Show Hosts, Journalism

Archived under: 1980s, Al Capone, Anniversaries, Archaeology, Celebrities, Chicago, Criminals, Entertainment, Flops, Hoaxes, Journalism, Journalists, Media, Mustaches, Mysteries, News, Organized Crime, Reality TV, Reporters, Scams, Secrets, TV, Talk Show Hosts, Treasure

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Jerry Springer at Cannes, 2003 (Photo by Jeff Vespa, WireImage) If you want to get a birthday card to Jerry Springer in time for his birthday, you'd better get it in the mail today! He turns 65 on Friday. 65 is, of course, the traditional age for Americans to retire, but Mr. Springer has proved so adept at reinventing himself, I can’t imagine he’s done yet. You may be most familiar with Springer as the host of "The Jerry Springer Show," America’s favorite forum for paternity revelations and other public airings of domestic disputes. I knew him only in that incarnation until I heard a story on the radio about his long and fascinating political career. Here are the basics: With an early interest in politics, he earned a law degree (Juris Doctor) back in 1968, after which he was a campaign aide for Robert F. Kennedy. After that he worked for a time at a law firm in Cincinnati. He had an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1970, but was elected to Cincinnati's city council the following year. Springer’s political career encountered a bump when it came to light that he’d hired a prostitute (whom he imprudently paid with a check). He was able to bounce back from this, but was not able to make the leap to governor, and by the time he decided to put his efforts back into politics -- in the form of a 2003 bid for a United States Senate seat -- he was too notorious as the ringmaster of the Springer Show circus. The show was launched 1991 as a serious serious political talk show, but in an attempt to increase ratings in the mid '90s, it quickly became the trash fix we know today. In recent years we have seen Springer competing on "Dancing With the Stars" and as the host of "America’s Got Talent." He's quitting his hosting gig, however, to focus on "Jerry Springer: The Opera," the British-born stage play that has been crawling across the globe. Obviously Mr. Springer is not slowing down, and at 65 he has plenty of time to get back into politics. But that notorious show seems to stick to him wherever he goes. Suggested Sites... Jerry Springer TV - official site for the Jerry Springer Show. The Jerry Springer Show on MySpace - message Jerry or download a ringtone. Jerry Springer: The Opera on Wikipedia - a plethora of information about the stage play. Jerry Springer omg! on Yahoo! - check here for the latest Jerry news.

Directory categories: The Jerry Springer Show, Jerry Springer: The Opera, America's Got Talent, Dancing With the Stars

Archived under: Birthdays, Dancing With the Stars, Entertainment, In Character, Musicals, Politics, Prostitution, Reality TV, TV

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