My friend Karyne alerted me to this post on Boing Boing. You can now buy every issue (up through 2005 or 2006 -- I can't tell for sure) of Mad Magazine on DVD.
A few years back, I got a similar collection on 7 CDs, and that went up through December 1998, I think. I'd have to look for sure, and my stupid self packed it in a box that went into storage when we moved. Meh.
This new collection features all the mags in PDF format. The first collection had a neat feature where you could actually fold the fold-in at the end of each issue. I'm guessing you can't do that with the new one, but still, being able to read over 50 years of Mad Magazine is still pretty awesome.
This collection is from the folks at GIT Corp., who also have a handful of Marvel Comics DVD collections, with more forthcoming. I got one a few years ago, the Marvel Comic Book Library, which featured the first 10 adventures of 10 Marvel characters. It was pretty cool, and it's nice to have comics all in one place without taking up tons of room in long boxes.
I still prefer to read the actual comic books (you can't beat that old comic book smell), but it's still pretty handy. I haven't tried out any of the larger collections, but given that I'd never have the money to buy the full run of say, the Fantastic Four, it's an inexpensive way to read some classic books.
Now if only DC Comics would do something similar...
Monday, January 08, 2007
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Number 2 with a bullet
I have weird dreams. I'm used to it. I've been skateboarding with Barney Rubble at my grandma's house, been chased through a TG&Y store by Jason Voorhees (all I could see over the aisles were his hockey mask and the long bars welded to the carts to keep you from taking them from the store) and I've fallen from an airplane without waking up before landing.
And no, I didn't die.
A few months ago, I woke up from a dream in which I had been watching a musical episode of "Scrubs." This is fairly common, dreaming about watching episodes of shows that don't exist.
When I told my wife about the dream, it seemed just odd. It kind of came out of nowhere.
It wasn't until a little later that I found out that coming soon to NBC is (yes, you guessed it), a musical episode of "Scrubs."
Why I couldn't have dreamt of winning lottery numbers, I don't know, but here's a little taste of what's in store for viewers.
And no, I didn't die.
A few months ago, I woke up from a dream in which I had been watching a musical episode of "Scrubs." This is fairly common, dreaming about watching episodes of shows that don't exist.
When I told my wife about the dream, it seemed just odd. It kind of came out of nowhere.
It wasn't until a little later that I found out that coming soon to NBC is (yes, you guessed it), a musical episode of "Scrubs."
Why I couldn't have dreamt of winning lottery numbers, I don't know, but here's a little taste of what's in store for viewers.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
2007 is already off to a good start
The 365 Days Project returns!
A few years ago, this cool project served up one mp3 a day for a whole year. These mp3s were from sources all around the world -- and a few from even farther away.
You can check out 2003's archive here. This year, the offerings may include more than one mp3 -- even full albums. If it's anything like the first one, there are sure to be some absolute treasures here that if you didn't hear them, you wouldn't believe existed.
And sometimes even after hearing some of them, you still can't believe it. It's a tremendously fascinating effort; I really can't say enough nice things about it. It's a reminder of what rich historical documents old recordings can be.
And to kick off everything, ringmaster Otis Fodder is offering two full versions of items that were excerpted last time around. And wouldn't you just know it, one of them was my favorite, and now I get to hear the whole thing.
Go check it out.
A few years ago, this cool project served up one mp3 a day for a whole year. These mp3s were from sources all around the world -- and a few from even farther away.
You can check out 2003's archive here. This year, the offerings may include more than one mp3 -- even full albums. If it's anything like the first one, there are sure to be some absolute treasures here that if you didn't hear them, you wouldn't believe existed.And sometimes even after hearing some of them, you still can't believe it. It's a tremendously fascinating effort; I really can't say enough nice things about it. It's a reminder of what rich historical documents old recordings can be.
And to kick off everything, ringmaster Otis Fodder is offering two full versions of items that were excerpted last time around. And wouldn't you just know it, one of them was my favorite, and now I get to hear the whole thing.
Go check it out.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Happy New Year.
New Year's Day.
A time when millions across the world slowly raise their heads -- a great effort given that they feel as though they are composed primarily of lead -- and regale the new year with a hearty, "Oh, dear God, I think I just threw up a file cabinet."
A time when you notice every sound the new morning has to bring, like the birds outside that JUST WILL NOT SHUT UP.
Out of deference to those of you who are trying to hide lampshade indentations with some makeup or are wondering exactly whose clothes you're wearing, I'm trying to type as quietly as I can.
For those of you who didn't enjoy late-night festivities because you either had to work the next morning or your name is possibly on a special list at your local police department, try to be supportive.
Laugh at them quietly.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Happy birthday to The Man
Just wanted to give a birthday shoutout to Stan Lee. I've always been more of a DC Comics guy than Marvel, but Stan the Man has been an influence on me nonetheless.
In fact, I'd have to say that he's one of two influences on my writing voice. The other is Judy Blume. You probably won't detect either one reading this blog, but they're there, I assure you.
Happy birthday, Stan.
In fact, I'd have to say that he's one of two influences on my writing voice. The other is Judy Blume. You probably won't detect either one reading this blog, but they're there, I assure you.
Happy birthday, Stan.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
Christmas time is (almost) here
You know that tingling sensation you get when you lick a fresh 9-volt Duracell? Imagine that feeling in your stomach. That's how waiting for Christmas felt like when I was a kid.
I don't know if I ever got any sleep on Christmas Eve. Back in the days before insomnia, I could count on two sleepless nights a year: the night before the first day of school and Christmas Eve. The difference: Christmas Eve usually didn't involve a lot of thinking, "Oh God, what are they going to do to me this year?"
Instead, it was all about potential; the unknown. When you're a kid, you don't think about budgets or supply and demand; it's all about the magical list you penned faster than any homework assignment could ever be done, even at gunpoint. It's the time that you simply ask for what you want without thinking about how much things cost or how unlikely it is that you'd get it.
It was almost like magic.
Well, magic fueled by a week of Christmas specials on CBS, with the bongo-fueled special presentation intro.
My brother and I -- when we shared a room -- would talk about what we thought we were going to get until we finally fell asleep despite all the kid-adrenaline. And after a few hours of sleep, we were wide awake again, eager to head out into the living room to see what Santa brought us.
In what we assumed was a cost-saving move to offset the expenses of toy production, Santa always wrapped our presents in layers of tissue paper. You could just see through it just enough to have an idea of what the present was.
Our stockings would be bulging with candy, socks and for some reason I never quite understood, a tiny bottle of after-shave. Maybe Santa was trying to tell us that we stunk. I don't know.
My brother was always trying to get out there before anyone else.
"I'm gonna go see what we got!" he'd whisper.
Then I'd remind him that our parents wouldn't be up for another 2 or 3 hours and he'd scowl at me.
I still remember the year we got the Hall of Justice from the Super Powers Collection. It was the one toy we wanted the most. We had most of the Super Powers figures already, and now we'd have a cool playset for them to hang out in.
When opened, the Hall of Justice had a jail cell (with a trap door) for any villains who meandered by, a meeting table for four (you know Superman always got first dibs on a chair) and an elevator that led to a landing pad for the Supermobile (or if you had a good imagination, Wonder Woman's invisible jet).
And if that wasn't cool enough, when we opened the box, out came the last three figures we needed.
A Christmas miracle.
So now I'm gearing up to celebrate Christmas with my own family, which means one non-TNT viewing of "A Christmas Story," complaining that they showed all the Christmas specials too early again and some serious eating.
But the thing I'm looking most forward to is watching my son open his presents. I can't wait to see his face when he sees what he got.
In fact, I probably won't be able to sleep on Christmas Eve because of it.
I don't know if I ever got any sleep on Christmas Eve. Back in the days before insomnia, I could count on two sleepless nights a year: the night before the first day of school and Christmas Eve. The difference: Christmas Eve usually didn't involve a lot of thinking, "Oh God, what are they going to do to me this year?"
Instead, it was all about potential; the unknown. When you're a kid, you don't think about budgets or supply and demand; it's all about the magical list you penned faster than any homework assignment could ever be done, even at gunpoint. It's the time that you simply ask for what you want without thinking about how much things cost or how unlikely it is that you'd get it.
It was almost like magic.
Well, magic fueled by a week of Christmas specials on CBS, with the bongo-fueled special presentation intro.
My brother and I -- when we shared a room -- would talk about what we thought we were going to get until we finally fell asleep despite all the kid-adrenaline. And after a few hours of sleep, we were wide awake again, eager to head out into the living room to see what Santa brought us.
In what we assumed was a cost-saving move to offset the expenses of toy production, Santa always wrapped our presents in layers of tissue paper. You could just see through it just enough to have an idea of what the present was.
Our stockings would be bulging with candy, socks and for some reason I never quite understood, a tiny bottle of after-shave. Maybe Santa was trying to tell us that we stunk. I don't know.
My brother was always trying to get out there before anyone else.
"I'm gonna go see what we got!" he'd whisper.
Then I'd remind him that our parents wouldn't be up for another 2 or 3 hours and he'd scowl at me.
I still remember the year we got the Hall of Justice from the Super Powers Collection. It was the one toy we wanted the most. We had most of the Super Powers figures already, and now we'd have a cool playset for them to hang out in.
When opened, the Hall of Justice had a jail cell (with a trap door) for any villains who meandered by, a meeting table for four (you know Superman always got first dibs on a chair) and an elevator that led to a landing pad for the Supermobile (or if you had a good imagination, Wonder Woman's invisible jet).
And if that wasn't cool enough, when we opened the box, out came the last three figures we needed.
A Christmas miracle.
So now I'm gearing up to celebrate Christmas with my own family, which means one non-TNT viewing of "A Christmas Story," complaining that they showed all the Christmas specials too early again and some serious eating.
But the thing I'm looking most forward to is watching my son open his presents. I can't wait to see his face when he sees what he got.
In fact, I probably won't be able to sleep on Christmas Eve because of it.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Random thought
At what point exactly did "American Pie" decide to challenge National Lampoon for the throne of Once (Arguably) Funny Franchise Now Offering Crappy Direct-To-DVD Movies?
And Eugene Levy, why? Really. Why?
And Eugene Levy, why? Really. Why?
Monday, December 18, 2006
Pac-Man fever
I think it will be hard to explain to my son when he gets older just how popular Pac-Man was in its heyday.
You had your Pac-Man cereal, which was essentially sweetened Kix with marshmallow bits. The Star Wars cereal a few years back was similar to Pac-Man cereal -- or at least was close enough for my brother and me. After it had been out for a while, General Mills made a concession to all the Ms. Pac-Man fans out there and added marshmallows with a "shocking pink bow."
I don't know that I was as excited as this commercial would expect you to be, but it was still pretty good.
There was, of course, a Pac-Man cartoon, which featured Marty Ingalls as the voice of our hero. I'd love to say that it was a groundbreaking cartoon worthy of many repeated viewings, but, well, it was teamed up with the Rubik the Amazing Cube cartoon. That right there shows you the state of Saturday morning cartoons in the mid-80s. Cool song, tho.
Yes, there was Pac-Man pasta. Another brief offering from Chef Boyardee, I don't know if I ever got this as a kid. The only Chef Boyardee product that I really liked was UFOs, which had giant cheese ravioli motherships along with the regular pasta spacecraft. But if you ever wanted to see a cartoon character based on a video game shill for bland pasta, hey, all you have to do is click play.
"Pac-Man Fever" by Buckner and Garcia, was a hit single that was the first big indicator of the yellow one's fame. Imagine someone writing a song about Monopoly.
My favorite Pac-Man tie-in was the board game, which you can read about in great detail at X-Entertainment.
And I've already mentioned the cool Super Pac-Man scratch-off cards.
The hardest part, though, will be explaining how a game this popular was one of the worst games for the Atari 2600.
You had your Pac-Man cereal, which was essentially sweetened Kix with marshmallow bits. The Star Wars cereal a few years back was similar to Pac-Man cereal -- or at least was close enough for my brother and me. After it had been out for a while, General Mills made a concession to all the Ms. Pac-Man fans out there and added marshmallows with a "shocking pink bow."
I don't know that I was as excited as this commercial would expect you to be, but it was still pretty good.
There was, of course, a Pac-Man cartoon, which featured Marty Ingalls as the voice of our hero. I'd love to say that it was a groundbreaking cartoon worthy of many repeated viewings, but, well, it was teamed up with the Rubik the Amazing Cube cartoon. That right there shows you the state of Saturday morning cartoons in the mid-80s. Cool song, tho.
Yes, there was Pac-Man pasta. Another brief offering from Chef Boyardee, I don't know if I ever got this as a kid. The only Chef Boyardee product that I really liked was UFOs, which had giant cheese ravioli motherships along with the regular pasta spacecraft. But if you ever wanted to see a cartoon character based on a video game shill for bland pasta, hey, all you have to do is click play.
"Pac-Man Fever" by Buckner and Garcia, was a hit single that was the first big indicator of the yellow one's fame. Imagine someone writing a song about Monopoly.
My favorite Pac-Man tie-in was the board game, which you can read about in great detail at X-Entertainment.
And I've already mentioned the cool Super Pac-Man scratch-off cards.
The hardest part, though, will be explaining how a game this popular was one of the worst games for the Atari 2600.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Monday, December 11, 2006
Robble robble
I realized the other day that as advertising mascots go, Ronald McDonald is a little unusual.
Not because he has his snappy clown ensemble that gets updated every decade or two, but because he likes to share. Ad icons I grew up with seemed to revolve around greed. The Trix Rabbit wanted Trix but couldn't get it, Lucky the Leprechaun had Lucky Charms but wouldn't share it and Sonny the Cuckoo Bird had a mental episode if he managed to get one spoonful of Cocoa Puffs.
While Ronald was pretty free with the food (like the old adage, "The first one's free..."), there were a few in McDonaldland who didn't share Ronald's food, folks and fun philosophy.
There was Captain Crook, who mainly just wanted Filet O' Fish sandwiches, which, honestly, is like someone who wants to steal nothing but Michael Bolton CDs. Really, how much of a criminal mastermind can you be if they pick you to be the catcher at an exhibition game with the San Diego Chicken?
There was also The Evil Grimace, whose ethically challenged rehabilitation I speculated upon previously.
But mainly, when you think of McDonaldland criminal genius, you're talking about the Hamburglar. If you go to the official McDonald's site, you can check out what they're passing off as Hamburglar these days. Just to prove how much thought went into it, the main Hamburglar page has him welcoming you to his page: "Who's there? Who are you? I'm glad you found my secret hideout! Come on in!"
Awfully wordy for a guy whose entire vocabulary consists mainly of "Robble robble" and sometimes "cheeseburgers." Why he wasn't called the Cheeseburglar is a question for another day I can't think of a proper subject to write about.
Because I care (somebody has to, darn it...), here is a retrospective of how Hamburglar has changed over the years.
Here's the old-school Hamburglar. Far from the cute and cuddly version around these days, the early Hamburglar looked quite creepy. I like this one. But then, everything in McDonaldland back then looked bizarre.
And then there's this version, which I think of as "my Hamburglar." He's still a little creepy looking, but he looks a little younger than before. Maybe old Ham opted for some plastic surgery, or better yet, conned The Professor into creating some kind of youth potion.
Then something went wrong. The youth potion appears to be working a little too well. From this point on, Hamburglar looks like a little kid. He also seems a little more chatty, which just isn't Hamburglary.
By the time my son starts writing pointless essays about half-forgotten pop culture, Hamburglar may be an infant in a black-and-white stiped onesie.
Hopefully he'll still have the floppy pimp hat.
Not because he has his snappy clown ensemble that gets updated every decade or two, but because he likes to share. Ad icons I grew up with seemed to revolve around greed. The Trix Rabbit wanted Trix but couldn't get it, Lucky the Leprechaun had Lucky Charms but wouldn't share it and Sonny the Cuckoo Bird had a mental episode if he managed to get one spoonful of Cocoa Puffs.
While Ronald was pretty free with the food (like the old adage, "The first one's free..."), there were a few in McDonaldland who didn't share Ronald's food, folks and fun philosophy.
There was Captain Crook, who mainly just wanted Filet O' Fish sandwiches, which, honestly, is like someone who wants to steal nothing but Michael Bolton CDs. Really, how much of a criminal mastermind can you be if they pick you to be the catcher at an exhibition game with the San Diego Chicken?
There was also The Evil Grimace, whose ethically challenged rehabilitation I speculated upon previously.
But mainly, when you think of McDonaldland criminal genius, you're talking about the Hamburglar. If you go to the official McDonald's site, you can check out what they're passing off as Hamburglar these days. Just to prove how much thought went into it, the main Hamburglar page has him welcoming you to his page: "Who's there? Who are you? I'm glad you found my secret hideout! Come on in!"
Awfully wordy for a guy whose entire vocabulary consists mainly of "Robble robble" and sometimes "cheeseburgers." Why he wasn't called the Cheeseburglar is a question for another day I can't think of a proper subject to write about.
Because I care (somebody has to, darn it...), here is a retrospective of how Hamburglar has changed over the years.
Here's the old-school Hamburglar. Far from the cute and cuddly version around these days, the early Hamburglar looked quite creepy. I like this one. But then, everything in McDonaldland back then looked bizarre.
And then there's this version, which I think of as "my Hamburglar." He's still a little creepy looking, but he looks a little younger than before. Maybe old Ham opted for some plastic surgery, or better yet, conned The Professor into creating some kind of youth potion.
Then something went wrong. The youth potion appears to be working a little too well. From this point on, Hamburglar looks like a little kid. He also seems a little more chatty, which just isn't Hamburglary.
By the time my son starts writing pointless essays about half-forgotten pop culture, Hamburglar may be an infant in a black-and-white stiped onesie.
Hopefully he'll still have the floppy pimp hat.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Two great tastes...
Hey, you got your "Scrubs" in my "Charlie Brown Christmas!"
Hey, you got your "Charlie Brown Christmas" in my "Scrubs!"
My Charlie Brown Christmas
(via Fark)
Hey, you got your "Charlie Brown Christmas" in my "Scrubs!"
My Charlie Brown Christmas
(via Fark)
Monday, December 04, 2006
...form of a hopeless dork
Some time ago, I was talking about superhero cartoons and mentioned that somehow people were under the false impression that the Wonder Twins activated their powers by touching their rings.
Then I talked more about it, coming up with a possible reason why this might be the case, even supplying pictures. To make a long story short (too late...), there was an earlier Hanna-Barbera cartoon called "Shazzan" that featured two teens who summoned a genie by touching two rings together and saying his name.
They've been showing some of these on Boomerang lately, and when Chuck and Nancy touch their rings together, they use the same sound as in the Wonder Twins' transformation. Technically, that should be the other way around, since "Shazzan" predates the Superfriends shows, but you get the idea.
I've dug up some video clips, and while you get to see Chuck and Nancy's ring thing, the familiar transformation sound is different in the opening credits.
Shazzan
Wonder Twins (as seen in the opening to the Superfriends)
I figured I may as well go nuts here with the anal-retentive superheroey clarifications, so something that sometimes gets confused with Shazzan is Shazam, the magic word young Billy Batson says in order to change into Captain Marvel. Honestly, I lay some of the blame on Hanna-Barbera for using such a similar word for such a similar circumstance.
Another part of the problem is that to a lot of people, Captain Marvel is Shazam, thanks to legal weirdness. I tried explaining this to my wife the other day, and I'm sure I'll screw up somehow, but here's the gist of it: Back in the '40s, Fawcett Publications unveiled their hero, Captain Marvel. DC Comics (then called National Periodical Publications), publisher of Superman, sued Fawcett in the '50s, saying that Captain Marvel was too similar to Superman, and in 1953, Fawcett stopped publishing the adventures of The Big Red Cheese (best superhero nickname ever).
In the early '70s, DC Comics licensed Captain Marvel from Fawcett and began publishing new stories, which would've been swell but for the fact that between the '50s and the '70s, Marvel Comics (home of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, etc.) had published their own Captain Marvel, which meant that DC couldn't use the name "Captain Marvel" in the title, so they went with "Shazam!"
DC later bought the rights to the characters, but Shazam remains in the titles of the comics. Here's the opening from an episode of the Filmation cartoon from the early 1980s:
Shazam
Because of their red costumes with shared lightning motif, Captain Marvel is sometimes confused with the Justice League of America's resident speedster, the Flash. Here's the opening to his show:
Flash
And just to be petty, I should mention that one of my biggest pet peeves as a kid was when people referred to the Flash as Flash Gordon. Here's that guy, again from the folks at Filmation. If you like it, the show was just released on DVD, so knock yourself out.
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon teamed up with The Phantom, Lothar and Mandrake the Magician on a later cartoon called "Defenders of the Earth," which was supplemented by a line of action figures. I got a few of these as a kid and picked up a Flash Gordon figure at an antique store a few years back. The figures were different in that while the rest of each figure was plastic, the forearms were cast-iron, which I guess gave them a little more heft when you used the power-action knob on the back. The cartoon also featured the heroes' children, Rick, LJ, Kshin and Jedda (not to be confused with the Volkwagen Jetta). This show is also on DVD now.
Flash Gordon should not be confused with
Chef Gordon Ramsey,
who should not be confused with Tootie Ramsey,
who should not be confused with Tutti Frutti,
which, of course, should not be confused with Scritti Politti
Is everyone clear on all this now?
Then I talked more about it, coming up with a possible reason why this might be the case, even supplying pictures. To make a long story short (too late...), there was an earlier Hanna-Barbera cartoon called "Shazzan" that featured two teens who summoned a genie by touching two rings together and saying his name.
They've been showing some of these on Boomerang lately, and when Chuck and Nancy touch their rings together, they use the same sound as in the Wonder Twins' transformation. Technically, that should be the other way around, since "Shazzan" predates the Superfriends shows, but you get the idea.
I've dug up some video clips, and while you get to see Chuck and Nancy's ring thing, the familiar transformation sound is different in the opening credits.
Shazzan
Wonder Twins (as seen in the opening to the Superfriends)
I figured I may as well go nuts here with the anal-retentive superheroey clarifications, so something that sometimes gets confused with Shazzan is Shazam, the magic word young Billy Batson says in order to change into Captain Marvel. Honestly, I lay some of the blame on Hanna-Barbera for using such a similar word for such a similar circumstance.
Another part of the problem is that to a lot of people, Captain Marvel is Shazam, thanks to legal weirdness. I tried explaining this to my wife the other day, and I'm sure I'll screw up somehow, but here's the gist of it: Back in the '40s, Fawcett Publications unveiled their hero, Captain Marvel. DC Comics (then called National Periodical Publications), publisher of Superman, sued Fawcett in the '50s, saying that Captain Marvel was too similar to Superman, and in 1953, Fawcett stopped publishing the adventures of The Big Red Cheese (best superhero nickname ever).
In the early '70s, DC Comics licensed Captain Marvel from Fawcett and began publishing new stories, which would've been swell but for the fact that between the '50s and the '70s, Marvel Comics (home of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, etc.) had published their own Captain Marvel, which meant that DC couldn't use the name "Captain Marvel" in the title, so they went with "Shazam!"
DC later bought the rights to the characters, but Shazam remains in the titles of the comics. Here's the opening from an episode of the Filmation cartoon from the early 1980s:
Shazam
Because of their red costumes with shared lightning motif, Captain Marvel is sometimes confused with the Justice League of America's resident speedster, the Flash. Here's the opening to his show:
Flash
And just to be petty, I should mention that one of my biggest pet peeves as a kid was when people referred to the Flash as Flash Gordon. Here's that guy, again from the folks at Filmation. If you like it, the show was just released on DVD, so knock yourself out.
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon teamed up with The Phantom, Lothar and Mandrake the Magician on a later cartoon called "Defenders of the Earth," which was supplemented by a line of action figures. I got a few of these as a kid and picked up a Flash Gordon figure at an antique store a few years back. The figures were different in that while the rest of each figure was plastic, the forearms were cast-iron, which I guess gave them a little more heft when you used the power-action knob on the back. The cartoon also featured the heroes' children, Rick, LJ, Kshin and Jedda (not to be confused with the Volkwagen Jetta). This show is also on DVD now.
Flash Gordon should not be confused with
Chef Gordon Ramsey,
who should not be confused with Tootie Ramsey,
who should not be confused with Tutti Frutti,
which, of course, should not be confused with Scritti Politti
Is everyone clear on all this now?
Friday, December 01, 2006
Dumb Things I've Done (8 in an occasional series)
I thought that I had a snowball's chance in hell of writing 50,000 words in one month. Alas, it was not to be. I punked out at 10,069 words, which is better than I did last year, and I wasn't even sick last time.
Maybe next time I'll make it. The trick will be to have a story idea I'm really keen on. I figured out how my first story ended, and once I knew how it ended, I didn't really care how everyone got there. The second story isn't too bad; I'm still not wild about it, but it might end up finished someday.
Some of the content on this blog aside, I have a hard time writing things without obsessing over them and rewriting endlessly.
Maybe next time I'll make it. The trick will be to have a story idea I'm really keen on. I figured out how my first story ended, and once I knew how it ended, I didn't really care how everyone got there. The second story isn't too bad; I'm still not wild about it, but it might end up finished someday.
Some of the content on this blog aside, I have a hard time writing things without obsessing over them and rewriting endlessly.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Your thought for this morning...
I was listening to one of the XM Radio Christmas channels, Special X-Mas, and I heard a song that featured Fred Flintstone singing about some Christmassy thing or another.
And then I thought, "Why would the Flintstones celebrate Christmas?"
And then I thought, "Why would the Flintstones celebrate Christmas?"
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Monday, November 27, 2006
Sick and tired
It's time for some more YouTubery here at Siftin'. This stupid cold is almost gone, but since hacking up a lung makes it hard to type, I'm sticking with something a little easier.
Take today's items, for example. The first one, a commercial for Cock o' the Walk Low-Calorie Fruit, really needs no extra comment from me. I think you've probably got a few in mind yourself. You should be ashamed.
The second one is a pretty standard McDonald's commercial. It's not particularly funny, but those of you readers out there who happen to be my brother (and you can probably smell if you are) will likely find this disproportionately funny for reasons that I'm really not going to go into.
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some DayQuil with my name on it. Or it would if I legally changed my name to DQuil, which, at this point, could happen without me noticing. Enjoy.
Take today's items, for example. The first one, a commercial for Cock o' the Walk Low-Calorie Fruit, really needs no extra comment from me. I think you've probably got a few in mind yourself. You should be ashamed.
The second one is a pretty standard McDonald's commercial. It's not particularly funny, but those of you readers out there who happen to be my brother (and you can probably smell if you are) will likely find this disproportionately funny for reasons that I'm really not going to go into.
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some DayQuil with my name on it. Or it would if I legally changed my name to DQuil, which, at this point, could happen without me noticing. Enjoy.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Dumb Things I've Done (7 in an occasional series)
Today, we have a guest sharing their dumb moment. He doesn't know he's doing it, but that's the beauty of the Internet, right?
This time, I'm on the other end of the dumbness in question. My friend and I were in yearbook class discussing some pressing issue (having absolutely nothing to do with the yearbook), and a carrot-topped classmate joined in the conversation.
I said something he thought was stupid, which prompted the following comment:
"Dude, you're such a Polack!"
My friend and I looked at each other, mystified, not because a classmate used a disparaging term for one of Polish descent, but because both of us were plainly aware that I was not, in the strictest terms, Polish.
"What?" I asked.
"You're such a Polack."
"How do you figure?" I asked.
"You just, uh, you just are," he said, his face getting perilously close to the same color as his hair.
"I'm not even Polish, moron."
"So? You're still a Polack."
My friend decided to spell it out for him, explaining that one generally had to be Polish to be called a Polack. I don't think he actually believed us or understood the distinction.
Sheesh. Redheads...
This time, I'm on the other end of the dumbness in question. My friend and I were in yearbook class discussing some pressing issue (having absolutely nothing to do with the yearbook), and a carrot-topped classmate joined in the conversation.
I said something he thought was stupid, which prompted the following comment:
"Dude, you're such a Polack!"
My friend and I looked at each other, mystified, not because a classmate used a disparaging term for one of Polish descent, but because both of us were plainly aware that I was not, in the strictest terms, Polish.
"What?" I asked.
"You're such a Polack."
"How do you figure?" I asked.
"You just, uh, you just are," he said, his face getting perilously close to the same color as his hair.
"I'm not even Polish, moron."
"So? You're still a Polack."
My friend decided to spell it out for him, explaining that one generally had to be Polish to be called a Polack. I don't think he actually believed us or understood the distinction.
Sheesh. Redheads...
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Switching gears
If you look over at my NaNoWriMo progress bar to the left, you might see that I finally have written more.
I abandoned my first story and started a new one, which I'm sure they recommend you not do, but here I am with a bit over 8,500 words. And this with another furshlugginer cold.
That still leaves me with an average of over 4,000 words a day to meet the goal, but stranger things have happened.
Wish me luck.
I abandoned my first story and started a new one, which I'm sure they recommend you not do, but here I am with a bit over 8,500 words. And this with another furshlugginer cold.
That still leaves me with an average of over 4,000 words a day to meet the goal, but stranger things have happened.
Wish me luck.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Dumb Things I've Done (6 in an occasional series)
When I was a little kid, I had somehow convinced myself that "La Bamba" was the Spanish version of "Twist and Shout." Why I thought this, I have no idea. No one told me this, and I hadn't read it anywhere. Apparently, this what the best my little brain could come up with.
This is the same brain that didn't make the connection between TP-ing someone's house and toilet paper until many years after what would be considered normal.
I knew toilet paper was involved, and it had nothing to do with Native American tents, but somehow it just never occurred to me.
This is the same brain that didn't make the connection between TP-ing someone's house and toilet paper until many years after what would be considered normal.
I knew toilet paper was involved, and it had nothing to do with Native American tents, but somehow it just never occurred to me.
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