I don’t know why I didn’t think of posting some Archie youtube links with my posts below, but have a look at some of the music numbers. There are more where these came from- just do a search at youtube for The Archies or The Archie Show, or click on one of these videos to go to the site and start digging through the related section:
Archie Show Intro
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Jingle Jangle
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Bang Shangalang
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Sugar, Sugar
Has there ever been a time in your life you have just had to wait on something? The anxiety sets in while trying to be patient and it’s difficult to think of anything else. When a child this anticipation is often felt in birthdays and Christmas when you just can’t wait for that toy you’ve kept bugging mom and dad about. For parents this sort of anticipation runs in the birth of children when the due date approaches. I am not married, but I imagine the mother-to-be is anticipating the day when that child is finally out because she’s worn from carrying the baby for the last several months. For dad, I imagine the stress of waiting on his wife causes him to anticipate the birth. For both mom and dad, they can’t wait for the baby to be born so the nightmarish hospital visit is over and they can see their baby finally.
Well, as we know my friends C and L are at this time once again in their lives with baby number four, and this blogger is having to just wait on news of what’s going on. They were to go in Friday to have labor induced and their child born. It is now two days later and in the absence of news all sorts of things have been going through my head, most of them not helpful in relieving the anxiety. Is L okay? Is the baby okay? Is this just a very long labor or has something unexpected happened, and if so what? As you can tell this line of thinking goes nowhere good fast. I keep checking my email and my friends’ blogs- all of them since maybe my OH friends know something I don’t yet know, and I have prayed more than once, but still I am anxious for news. I pray it’s good news.
Unfortunately I just have to keep waiting…
The comic book. When people today think of comic books, usually superheroes come to mind. With the introduction of Superman in 1938, this trend grew through the golden years and later with dozens of superheroes created. Big names like Stan Lee come to mind, who has become so big he was given his own reality show, Who Wants to be a Superhero? which lasted for two seasons. Many comic-book heroes have made their way to the TV screen in the form of cartoons and live-action shows, and have been making it big in movies as well. Within the last few months we have had Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and the much-anticipated soon-to-be-released Dark Knight (Batman).
However, superheroes are just one of many genres of comic books. Among the years westerns, war, sci-fi and fantasy, detective, horror, and many others have had some big hits and long-running series over the years. While I have read several different genres as a kid, one really stuck with me, or maybe they are a couple different ones. Harvey comics, which brought us the likes of Casper the Friendly Ghost and Richie Rich are of a genre which you might call funny comics. I don’t know the true genre name for these but they were close to my heart growing up. Another series I have always enjoyed was kind of a genre unto itself, though others have tried to duplicate its success. Like many superhero comics, this series has been going strong since the golden age of comics. It has spawned some cartoons, at least one live TV series (plus a pilot that never got off the ground), and even a movie. The series I’m talking about is the Archie comic book series. Since 1941, readers have been able to follow the high-school antics of Archie and his gang, which has periodically changed to fit the times. The most recent incarnation made the characters more anime-like.
Recently, while at the library I encountered two DVD collections of the old cartoon series. One set was for Sabrina the Teenage Witch from the early 70s, which unlike the later cartoons and TV series actually resembled the Sabrina I know from the comic books. It was actually not shown on its own originally, but part of The Archie Comedy Hour. I also found a DVD collection for the original cartoon, The Archie Show. The latter was apparently a smash hit 40 years ago in 1968, before I was born. Each cartoon contained a new dance move and a new song from The Archies, a band that was put together for the show not unlike The Monkees, but instead of becoming a band unto themselves they hid behind the cartoon faces of Archie and friends. This one show apparently cornered a whopping 55% of the viewership when it was on. In any event, I wound up checking both of them out and just finished watching the Archie DVDs (and not too soon, as it is on reserve and not able to be renewed- it’s due today) and two of the three Sabrina DVDs. As typical for cartoon series of the time they were done on the cheap with static backgrounds that when made to move like when a character is walking or running will repeat, and a few voice actors doing all of the voices. Okay, these sort of things are still done, even with the voice actors in hits like The Simpsons, but they are still done to keep the costs down. Some of the voices the actors came up with left something to be desired in my opinion. I really didn’t like Jughead’s or Veronica’s voices. A couple others, like Archie and Mr. Weatherbee grew on me as I watched, and still others I had no problem with at all.
Now that I am nearly finished with these two collections I look forward to being able to watch other series, except maybe the recent Sabrina cartoons which were actually a spinoff of the 90s TV series, which in turn was a modern remake. I haven’t read the recent anime-style comics for the same reason I didn’t enjoy the TV series, and for that matter don’t enjoy the modern Battlestar Galactica- nostalgia. They are simply not the same characters I grew up with. The ones I do want to watch range from Archie’s TV Funnies, US of Archie, and Archie’s Fun House from the same company that brought us the two I watched (Filmation); to later incarnations like the New Archies and Archie’s Weird Mysteries which may or may not be relevent to my nostalgia. I also would like to pick up any Richie Rich cartoons I might find, and any other Harveytoons which are like the comics I read, and any comic collections that are released on computer similar to MAD’s CD set from about ten years ago. I understand there is one for Archie now that can be had at archiecomics.com. When I have some income again I will have to pick it up.
As a society we are surrounded by coffee. In larger cities there have been Starbucks on every corner. Stretching the point a little, but they did just close a number of “extra” shops. There are also a number of other coffee places that are national/international brands. Even the likes of McDonalds are starting to sell their own premium coffees. Were does in end?
Now I a admit being a bit of a coffee nerd/snob. I have tasted good coffee and desire it above all others. I like the pure 100% coffees from specific regions (Kona and Kenya AA are at the top of my list). I like various blended coffees (Mocha Java and Kona Blends). I like good dark roasts, medium roasts and light roasts. I even go for a good shot of espresso every now and then. When it comes to flavored coffees, there are those I like and those I don’t. Adding flavor to coffee is outside the realm of a simple cuppa… So are most of the fancy blends and even the espresso.
I’m talking about a simple no nonsense cup of joe. That fresh jolt of black goodness in the morning. And the thoughts of that cup bring back memories of days long past.
I’ve told the story many times, of my wife and I finding a coffee shop of all places to spend a little time alone. At that time, I was the only one to even drink coffee. It grew on her. But I felt myself being drawn further back in time. To a small apartment, our first, in Toledo, OH. This little two bedroom unit was about 3 or 4 blocks from a Dunkin’ Donuts shop. I remember walking down on some Saturdays to get some donuts and for me a coffee. That coffee was some of the best I’ve ever tasted. To this day it is still one of my favorites. In those early days, we didn’t even have a coffee maker in the house (I would consumed the whole pot), so this was a treat. I even had a Dunkin’ Donuts thermos so I could get cheaper re-fills.
If I have my count of Toledo area donut shops correct, that one Dunkin’ Donuts is the last in the Toledo area. When we lived there, there were a least 4 in the area. Who knows why they left this part of the country for a while. But I’ve heard that they are opening up new shops in the Ft. Wayne IN area. I now live halfway between Toledo and Ft. Wayne, so maybe I’ll be able to get coffee and a donut from Dunkin’ Donuts when I’m on the road. I’d love to see them expand in the area again. But maybe 65 miles isn’t too far to go to relive a memory…
I thought today was going to be a real downer. Work seemed endless today with barely a break for lunch. If things could go wrong, they all waited for today. But with some luck, I had a much better late afternoon/early evening.
As told earlier, I went to a movie. I went with not 1 but 2 of my daughters. We all had a good time, it was just a fun little show to watch. Then we went to dinner. Dinner was Pizza Hut, so I didn’t find it very good, but the girls seemed to enjoy it. Then off to the Putt-Putt. With two free game one at an earlier time, we were able to putt with no money down. One of my daughters doesn’t like putt-putt, but is willing to keep score. Except for 2 miss-played holes (really badly mis-played, I had a good game. I was able to break par by 1 stroke. I think I figured out my problem with putting. I get too sure of myself at times, and don’t concentrate on what I am doing. Makes be flub up sometimes. I guess I should be more careful.
Then we had Ice cream at the Creamery again. Still good stuff, a bit expensive, but it is good to splurge every now and again.
Time to run.. or sleep as the case may be, it is now a bit after midnight.
Well I just saw the movie, now I’m going to explore some the science (or lack of it) involved in this journey. In Jules Verne’s original book, the center of the earth is a large cave like area with some sort of electro magnetic field producing light. Same in the movie.
Current Science views the center of the Earth as a molten metal core, mostly iron. This would be well above the temperatures that humans could survive in. But just for arguments sake, lets pretend there is a large cave with volcanic vents that connect between Italy and Iceland. Why would we have prehistoric dinosaurs and other animals living there. What could be the possible connection. I can’t really think of one, maybe my loyal readers could.
One other small problem, at least for the movie. The biggest plot mover in the movie is that temperatures will soon rise to unsurvivable levels. It is also indicated that it happened 10 year prior to this visit. How did the animal life stuck in the center survive, if it was so crucial that the intrepid explorers got out very soon. Must be something really special in the water that was going to evaporate in less than 3 days. I don’t think I can believe the quantity of life in the center of the earth if every few years it is going to become an oven.
I guess since they went that far with the science, that God is having a hand again in matters here on Earth or in this case under the Earth, a running a new version of creation every 10 or so years. That would explain everything. Hmm, I guess I’m saying that there isn’t a lot of science in the movie.
However, since I didn’t start thinking about this during the movie, it really didn’t matter. It took a while for it to settle in my brain.
I’m heading out to see a movie this evening (got to get the early show price). I’m going to see something I haven’t seen in years a 3D movie, complete with cardboard glasses. I hope we get to keep them, because I need some 3D glasses to see some stuff from NASA. I think they need the red/blue glasses, not the polarized lens glasses, so I’m hoping it is a red/blue thing….
Anyway this post is a preview of my review. I haven’t been impressed with the previews to this movie. It looks like another of those take a book and lets ruin it type. But I’ll find out more when I get there. I think the 3D is going to make or break the movie. If it works well it may make it, if it doesn’t it will be a flop.
Just my early take based on previous trailers…
Well, just got back from the movie, dinner, putt-putt and ice cream. I’ll have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the movie. Apparently the producers realized that a this book needed a different treatment. Instead of completely forgetting the book, the new and intrepid explorers are actually re-investigating the book. With this take, I didn’t care that it wasn’t following the book at all. Just new characters following the same journey.
I can’t comment on the 3D, since the theater I went to did not have the equipment to show it in 3D. It was a decent comedy/adventure. Brendan Fraser again does a very good job with this type of movie. The special effects outside of 3D weren’t too bad either. They kept the “Center of the Earth” fairly dark, and this always seems to help blend in the special effects. The characters all seemed to interact very well together. I’m not sure I will need to find a 3D capable movie theater, but if the TV version is 3D, I may rent it.
So there you go. I recommend seeing it, but you may want to hit the early shows.
Well, yesterday I finally had a chance to see Indiana Jones 4. Since all who read this blog have already seen it I won’t say too much about it and I may also feel free to mention possible spoilers. Anyway, it’s been a long time since I saw the first three but I had no trouble at all getting into this one. I had to remind myself that this whole series is meant to be a parody of old time action serials and all of their improbable problems and solutions. A couple of my favorite parts were first when Indy and company have just escaped the commie’s camp thanks to a quick action by Mutt (the bait to get the younger crowd to see the movie if they didn’t already want to see it) and Indy and Marion get trapped in the sand (not quicksand- what did they call it?) pit. Mutt gets sent to find a rope or something and the confused Ox goes to get help. Mutt comes back, throws what he found, Marion climbs out. He throws it again and we then see that whoops! It’s not a rope… Once Indy finds his nerve and allows himself to be rescued, here comes Ox back with, um, help… Well just where did Indy think Ox would find the help anyway?
Another favorite part was when they were on the amphibious vehicles and they run off the cliff into… a really long tree branch sticking out from the cliff. Down, down, down goes the branch from the weight until gravity takes over and the vehicle slides off and into the water. The branch of course does what a branch does when it’s pulled and suddenly released, causing a really bad day for some of Col. Dr. Spalko’s militia who have been climbing down said cliff.
This isn’t to say these were the only good parts- I thoroughly enjoyed the entire movie. All the action parodies from the bullets that never hit Indy and co., the nuclear bomb test, the giant ants (which made me think of those evil little bugs from the Mummy), the Soviet’s path making machine which strangely seemed to create long paths ahead of it which they all used after the machine was destroyed. etc.
Speaking of movies, there is this really cool science film I found from another site. The narrator could use some lessons on how not to speak in monotone, but the visuals are really cool. They actually make visible magnetic fields. My description is pretty poor I know- just watch it, you’ll see.
I have read some pretty scary stories of how politcally correct and bureaucratic the UK has become. A recent story had some Muslims completely outraged at an advertisement for the police because it had a dog in it, which is considered unclean to them. The proper response would have been something to the effect of “don’t be ridiculous- it’s just a dog.” Instead the police apologized and said they would offer an alternative. I guess it’s not surprising as the PC climate there is such that, if I heard correctly, the police aren’t even allowed to carry a gun with them- they must keep them in the trunks of their cars.
Anyway, the story I’m posting about leaves me shaking my head at where this world is going. This couple has a teenage son who is epileptic (and has cerebral palsy) and often travels to school by means of a taxi. Only mom and dad know how to use some special equipment they have if the boy goes into a seizure. When driving their son to school, there is absolutely no problem whatsoever. However, he usually has to take a cab due to the car not being available. Mom has to go with him in case he has a fit, but get this, she isn’t allowed to because she hasn’t had a Criminal Records Bureau check. Say what? She’s the mom! Apparently since the cab is provided for them, they have to follow the rules precisely- being mom doesn’t get her a waiver. How ridiculous is that? Of course, she’s going through the process, but really, why should she have to? Anyway, here’s the link to the story:
This is definitely going to be the hardest posting I have made… it is just so difficult to put into words what a great friend Chris is. What he and Lisa thought would be a real downer on my birthday was the greatest present he could give me. I have always known that you don’t always “get the part”, but to have him tell me what he did just floored me. I really was touched and wanted to break down not because I was disappointed but because of everything he did when he told me. He asked me if I was upset by not being cast in the show and if I was he would step down. He also mentioned that he asked the director to consider double casting the part. That would be very difficult as she is a first time director. My Lord what have I done to deserve such an awesome friend. I was not even tempted to take him up on his offer. It sounds cliche but I really do mean that if I did not get the role, there is no one else I would rather watch in it. Plus, I was asked to be the stage manager so I will be a huge part of the show as well. Just still hoping for that time we get to share the stage in a show as actors only. Thank you my friend… You have made my 35th birthday one I will never forget.