PCQOTD : 2-28-06

Plebian:
"Life was like a box of chocolates."

Erudite:
"Go ahead with your own life. Leave me alone."

Bonus Erudite (with Bonus Connection):
"Enter the Carousel. This is the time of renewal."

Mining For Mineral Resources

This is a fun little artsy photography site. They take picture of tiny plastic figures (probably from an N scale railroad set) and pose them with food to make a unique and surreal little world. The picture here shows workers mining the seeds out of a watermelon. Other pictures include football players on a carton of eggs, Nazis creeping through salad, and engineers studying a fissure in an eclair. The navigation interface is in Flash and is a little hard to get used to, but perseverence pays off--there's some cool stuff here.

PCQOTD : 2-23-06

Plebian:
"But you’re not fooling me, ‘cause I can see the way you shake and shiver."

Erudite:
"Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars."

PCQOTD : 2-22-06

Plebian:
"Take your stinking paws off of me, you damn dirty ape!"

Erudite:
"I didn't say he was dead; I said he was sleeping with the fishes."

Bonus Erudite (With Extra Added Bonus Connection):
"The Duke of New York, A-Number-1, the Big Man, that's who!"

WE'RE BACK!

ethankaye.net, Sizzle, and Sketch go to PA
Originally uploaded by TedHobgood.

So the Great Pennsylvania Road Trip has come to an end. After work on Thursday, Ethan Kaye, Jeff Scronce, and yours truly piled into Ethan's car and made ramming speed up to Easton, PA to stay with his parents. Ethan's parents rock, by the way. We talked at length of wrestling, the Marx Brothers, theater, Kenpo, Judaism, and why there are no pictures of Ethan in the house. His mom fixed us an incredible lasagna, and we had a Sabbath dinner on Friday, which was cool. I felt very at home and accepted.

We went to Roadside America, the "World's Greatest Miniature Village". Ethan kept raving about it, but to tell the truth, I wasn't really looking forward to it. Turns out, it was the high point of the trip. It was fascinating, fun, and hilarious. Other highlights were the $5.98 store that Ethan's father turned us on to (I got an amazing jacket), and Haag's Hotel, a family dining restaurant of all-you-can-eat Pennsylvania Dutch food. Incredible. We also went to a zoo in freezing weather, saw a crappy film at the Hershey factory, and made lots of amusing remarks about billboards, signs, and the rare Pennsylvania Angus Bee.

Ted gives this trip a big thumbs up, and thanks Ethan Kaye for putting it together. It was one fine vacation.

Click here for a Flickr photoset of selections from our journey. Go through the pictures one-by-one (as opposed to the slideshow) to read the comments.

PCQOTD : 2-21-06

Plebian:
"It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs."

Erudite:
"By Gad, sir, you are a character. There's never any telling what you'll say or do next, except that it's bound to be something astonishing."

PCQOTD : 2-16-06

Plebian:
"You know the difference between you and me? I make this look good."

Erudite:
"I got stripes, stripes around my shoulders. I got chains, chains around my feet."

Mmmmm...CHICKEN!

So this Thursday, the lovely ethankaye.net, the lovely Sizzle, and myself are heading up to Pennsylvania to spend the weekend at the kaye.net family farm in the heart of Amish country. We're going to eat good food, enjoy great hospitality, and see the Hershey factory, the Crystal Cave Park, and the world's largest miniature village. It's a kitschfest. I may be mistaken, but I think this is going to be the first time I've had a full weekend away from the theater since it opened last October. My god. I need to take a break.

Notes:
* The Kaye family may not reside on an actual farm, and it may not actually be in Amish country, although we are going to several nearby Amish-type places. Ones that have websites. Wrap your mind around that.
* The name of the guy in the picture is Amish Roadkill. No, really. He's a rassler.

WHAM!

My friend Brantley found this great little video clip on YourTube. Somebody put together a clipfest of the best finishing moves on the indy wrestling scene. Some of these are just poetic to watch, like the 720 DDT, the incredible Canadian Destroyer, the Falcon Arrow, and the Shooting Star Press (SSP). This is what exciting pro wrestling is all about, not the rewashed roidfests and boobjobs that the WWE puts on. Chekkit out.

PCQOTD : 2-15-06

Plebian:
"They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!"

Erudite:
"Who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?"

The Negative Map of Ted

Ah, when I put up The Map of Ted yesterday, I didn't notice there was also a corresponding page for the negative aspects of my personality. So here it is, go to it, jackals.

PCQOTD : 2-14-06

Plebian:
"Truth, Justice, and the American Way."

Erudite:
"To a gourmet, it's a special sauce; to a cowboy, it's his favourite 'hoss',; to a colonel, it's a regiment."

Starting tomorrow, I will put up the answers to the previous day's Popular Culture Quote of the Day in the comments section, along with the Connection. I've gone back and done so for all the previous days as well. Feel free to keep leaving your solutions in the comment section; that's fun for me. Check back the next day to see the answers if you didn't get them.

WTF?!?

What the fuck is this? I stumbled across this site while cruising around a combat sports website. Amazing what one can find by accident.
...
Ohhh...it's from Australia. That explains a lot.

The Map Of Ted

Amanda and Kit each had this interesting personality map on their blog, and I was intrigued, so I decided to put a copy here on mine and see what comes up. Basically, you pick various traits off of a grid, picking the best that suit me, in your opinion. The next page then compares your opinion with others, as well as my own.

Click here and give it a try. There's no registration or anything, so it's easy to participate without worrying about getting spammed. I'd be interested to see what you say.

PCQOTD : 2-13-06

Plebian:
"We’ll have some fun now with me and all the gang, learning from each other while we do our thing."

Erudite:
"Jammin' on the one."

Not At The State Fair...Yet.

So, while watching QI this weekend, I heard them mention something called a "Scotch Egg". Not knowing what a Scotch Egg is, I looked it up on Wikipedia. Apparently, a Scotch Egg is a cold hard-boiled egg, wrapped in ground sausage, coated with breadcrumbs, and deep fried. I wanted to see a picture of this odd little creation, so I looked it up on Google. Before I got to the images section though, I was presented with webpages that referenced the Scotch Egg, and the first entry brought me to this rather nasty-sounding creation. Enjoy.

I've Got A Bad, Er, Good Feeling About This

I like Lego, and I like Star Wars. When they announced they would make a Lego Star Wars video game in 2005, I was excited. The actual Lego Star Wars sets looked cool, and I could just imagine how much fun it would be to cruise around as Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, etc, in the Lego world. Alas, as it turned out, the game was based on the crap-crap-crappy recent Star Wars movies, therefore by definition, it sucked. Well now it's 2006, and they've wised up they're coming out with a second Lego Star Wars game, and this one is securely focussed on the first three movies, aka "The Good Star Wars".

Here's two quotes from the preview that sound particularly cool:

"Any non-droid character will be able to ride any creature and pilot any vehicle, so the player will have the chance to, say, have Lando Calrissian ride a tauntaun or Leia pilot an AT-ST."

"Examples of the melee attacks include Leia's face slap and Chewbacca pulling LEGO arms off of an opposing character, just like Han Solo implies in Episode IV when he tells C-3PO, "Droids don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookiees are known to do that."

Sweet.

I've Learned Something

Words are interesting, and I just stumbled upon a new one. Do you know what a vexillologist is?

PCQOTD : 2-11-06

Plebian:
"If I ever have a son, I’m gonna name him...Bill! or George!"

Erudite:
"Yup. The end of a way of life. Too bad. It's a good way. Wagons forward! Yo!"

Bukkake Costume?

"Mayo" from the new Burger King "Whopperettes" commercial. Click the picture to enlarge.

You Like Tinygame, Yes?

Behold the world's smallest website, full of your favourite games like Breakout, Pacman, and Space Invaders, all crammed into an 18x18 pixel square. You've got to check it out to believe it.

PCQOTD : 2-9-06

Plebian:
"Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got."

Erudite:
"It's German for 'the'...'the Bart, the'!"

Ursine Hijinks

So I was wandering around the site of Kevin Cornell, a very talented artist, looking for some monkey cartoons I heard he did. Before I found those cartoons though, I came across a fun little game/doodad/timewaster he made called, simply enough, "The Bear". This is the type of thing I would like to do on my website; fun little tiny things that people can fiddle with, that brings a smile to their face.

(Oh, and the monkey cartoons are mixed throughout this section of his site. The Mojo the Monkey stuff is hilarious, as are many more of his cartoons.)

PCQOTD : 2-8-06

Plebian:
"I’ve paid my dues time after time, I’ve done my sentence, but committed no crime."

Erudite:
"Hawkmen? DIIIIVE!"

Blading The Paper

So I had someone I didn't know post a comment to my blog recently-- what?!? Other people actually read this thing other than my immediate (and small) circle of friends?!? I'm stunned. He commented on my Hanna-Barbera/McFarlane figures entry, and mentioned that he does Hanna-Barbera collage, listing his web address for more information. Since I've never had someone I didn't know post to this blog, I was wary at first that this might be some sort of trick to get publicity, but my fears were unfounded. John Rozum is (among other things) a prolific comic book writer, with such titles as Xombi, The X-Files, What If?, and Dexter's Laboratory. He's also an incredible collagist. Check out the "News" section on his site to see some of his Hanna-Barbera collages. I love his Creeper and his Dr. Quest, and am dying to see an Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan as interpreted by his hands.

Violent Dairy Products

Evan "Dork" Dorkin is a genius. His "Milk and Cheese" strips ("Dairy products gone bad...a carton of hate, a wedge of spite" are just about the funniest comics I've ever read. They never fail to make me guffaw at every panel. I first discovered him when I started collecting the old Fisher-Price Little People figures in 1988, and found his version of "Catcher In The Rye" as performed by Little People. I say to you once again, genius.

Check out samples here. Check out dorkin's website here. And just for shits and giggles, as an extra added bonus, dorkin's take on the comic strip "Cathy" is here.

PCQOTD : 2-7-06

Plebian:
"Steve Austin...a man barely alive..."

Erudite:
"I’ve gotten burned over Cheryl Tiegs, blown up for Raquel Welch.
But when I end up in the hay it’s only hay, Hey Hey."

To The Moon, Alice

I was talking to some friend of mine the other day, and we were discussing odd tv shows, amazed at what sort of things made it to the air. My friend gawked at me in disbelief when I tried to explain the plotline for "Salvage 1", a short-lived series from 1979. Basically, a junkyard owner reads about the vehicles and equipment that were left on the moon after the Apollo expeditions, and he sees dollar signs. He figures he's a smart fellow, so he builds a rocket out of the junk laying around his yard, and states that he's going to "go to the moon, salvage all the junk that's up there, bring it back, and sell it." Sounds like a great show, right? It gets better...the junkman is played by Andy Griffith.

I can't make stuff like this up, folks. No, I wouldn't believe me either. Click here to see the whole nutty story of Salvage 1. There's even links to the theme and classic dialogue from the show. Enjoy.

PCQOTD : 2-6-06

Plebian:
"Nothing up my sleeve...PRESTO!
...
No doubt about it; I gotta get a new hat."

Erudite:
"To all my love slaves out there: Thunderlips is here. In the flesh, baby. The ultimate male versus... the ultimate meatball. Ha-ha-ha!!!"

Bonus Erudite:
"The year is 1987, and NASA launches the last of America's deep space probes."

(Each Erudite has a different conenction to the Plebian today.)

The Ride On The Self-Esteem Train Keeps On Chuggin'

So I'm on one o' them there personal ad sites, and there was this girl I had bookmarked because she had such an interesting profile, with lots of mutual hobbies and intriguing things to talk about. I finally sat down and decided to write her an email to say hi and see if she'd like to chat. Within a few hours, I got this lovely reply:

We have a high match percentage, and I bet I'd like you a lot, except for the fact that I will never meet you because
a) You're too old for me :(
b) You look eerily like this guy who raped me, and if I met you I would probably freak out and have a panic attack and cry. Just looking at your pictures made me uncomfortable.

Well, that was out of the blue. I can sure pick 'em.

PCQOTD : 2-3-06

Plebian:
"Red rum."

Erudite:
"Number one superguy."

There Goes My Money

I like action figures. I'm really picky about what I buy, though--it has to be something unique and clever. F'r'instance, yesterday I bought the new "Secret Files" Batman figure, because it shows Bruce Wayne in the Batman costume, but with his cowl removed. What got me to actually buy it, though, is that the removed cowl is made of soft rubber, and hangs behind his head along the cape. This is the little touch that sets this figure apart from the average dreck that is churned out in the action figure world.

One action figure company I've always liked is McFarlane. They consistently produce some of the cleverest, best sculpted, most detailed, most unusual figures ever. They're just heads and shoulders above 97% of the figure companies out there. Problem is, I don't own any McFarlane figures; they just haven't ever produced any characters I've been wildly interested in. Their Janis Joplin is cool, but I don't really need a Joplin figure. I love Kiss, but can't really see myself dedicating a huge amount of real estate in my living room to a recreation of the "Alive" set. Their Monsters and Movie Maniacs series are great looking, but again, I'm not that big of a fan of the characters to actually have them around.

Well, recently McFarlane announced they had secured the Hanna-Barbera license. Now I might be in trouble. I love Hanna-Barbera. I grew up on it. They revolutionized the animation process, and produced some great series in both the comic and scfi/adventure realms. The press release says that McFarlane will be starting out with Fred Flintstone, Tom and Jerry and Quickdraw McGraw figures. That's fine; I won't buy any of those, so my wallet will be safe. I'm hoping he'll soon do his take on great popular characters like Scooby Doo, Josie & The Pussycats, and the fabulous Scatman Crothers-voiced Hong Kong Phooey. McFarlane is actually known for doing figures of characters that might not necessarily be the most popular in a particular genre, so there might be hope for seeing such interesting choices as The Impossibles, Speed Buggy, Grape Ape, or Jabberjaw. A more distant possibility would be Ted favourites such as The Hillbilly Bears or The Hair Bear Bunch. (Hippie bears rule.)

I would like to go on record as saying, if McFarlane makes sets of Clue Club or my favourite, The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, I'll freak out. Please Todd, bring me The Chan Clan!!!

Amazon Can Be Amusing

Amazing, the things one can find whilst wandering around on Amazon. This page made me smile in a bemused fashion.

PCQOTD : 2-2-06

Plebian:
"And she’s not only merely dead, she’s really most sincerely dead."

Erudite:
"You're all invited back next week to this locality to have a heapin' helpin' of their hospitality."

A Bloody Good Yarn

This page amuses me. A thousand happinesses will descend up the person who crochets for me a tiger and stack of bones. I'll take the alligator with the baby as well. Far, far too funny.

PCQOTD : 2-1-06

Plebian:
"Did somebody sit on a duck?!?"

Erudite:
"He stepped out of rank, got hit by a tank, he ain't no chicken no more."