Back To The Eighties

Rubix Kube
Penn's Peak - Jim Thorpe, PA
I don't typically go to see a lot of cover bands, but this band had an incredible show.  The band is based out of The Canal Room in New York and is made up of Cherie Martorana and Scott Lovelady on lead vocals, with Eric Presti, Rich Forman, John LaSpina and Michael Maenza.

Strange Laundry: Dwight Gooden (Tampa Bay)

Dwight Gooden
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2000)
The Devil Rays had terrible luck with starting pitchers in the third year of the franchise.  In January, they signed veteran starter Juan Guzman to a two year contract to join team ace Wilson Alvarez at the top of their rotation.  Things were looking positive, but then the season started and everything went wrong.  Wilson Alvarez injured his shoulder during Spring Training and began the season on the disabled list, and his injuries required arthroscopic shoulder surgery which caused him to miss the entire 2000 and 2001 seasons.  As bad as that sounds, Juan Guzman's fate was even worse.  On the same day that Dwight Gooden made his only start for the Astros, Guzman made his only start for the Devil Rays, and it would be his final appearance in an MLB game.  He gave up 8 runs on 7 hits in 1 ⅔ innings of work against the Cleveland Indians, including home runs to Omar Vizquel and Jim Thome.  He made several minor league rehab appearances in 2000 and 2001, but never again made it to the big leagues.

With their top two starters out of commission after just the fifth game of the season, the Devil Rays purchased the contract of Dwight Gooden from the Houston Astros.  Doc was impressive in his first start for Tampa Bay, which was ten years ago today. He gave up just four hits in six shutout innings against the Detroit Tigers, and he earned his first victory of the season.  Although he would go 2-0 before the end of April, his Devil Rays debut was the highlight of his time in Tampa Bay.  His ERA ballooned to 6.86 after his ninth start of the season, at which point he was released.

New York Daily News  (September 30, 2000)

Thankfully, Doc's release from the Devil Rays was not the end of his story.  He returned to the New York Yankees in July working mostly in middle relief, but he also made five spot starts.  Gooden was 4-2 with a 3.36 ERA in the final half season of his career in New York, and he even notched the second and third saves of his career.

Dwight Gooden finished the season with a record of 6-5 combined in his time with the Astros, Devil Rays and Yankees with a respectable 4.54 ERA.  The last innings of his career were pitched in the post-season, which ended in the Yankees 2000 World Series Championship.  To the best of my knowledge, he is the only pitcher to win a championship ring with both the Mets and Yankees.

Strange Laundry: Dwight Gooden (Houston)

Dwight Gooden
Houston Astros (2000)

Doc is best known for his eleven years pitching for the New York Mets, and for his career resurgence in the late 90's with the New York Yankees that included a no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners.  He finished the last two years of the decade with the Cleveland Indians, but his final season in the big leagues began ten years ago with his one and only appearance as a member of the Houston Astros.

Asbury Park Press - Asbury Park, NJ  (April 9, 2000)

Dwight Gooden was the starting pitcher for the Astros against the Philadelphia Phillies on the afternoon of April 8th, 2000.  It was the second game ever played at Minute Maid Park, which at the time had the unfortunate name of Enron Field.

Philadelphia wasted no time getting on the board when center fielder Doug Glanville smacked Gooden's second pitch of the game for a home run.  He also gave up an RBI single to Bobby Abreu in the third and back-to-back RBI doubles in the fourth by Tomas Perez and Phillies starter Chris Brock.  Doc was relieved in the fifth inning with the game tied 4-4 and did not get the decision in the Astros 8-5 victory.

 

The Tampa Tribune - Tampa, FL  (April 14, 2000)

Just five days later, the Astros traded the youngest Cy Young Award winner of all time to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but that's a piece of strange laundry for another time.

Smart Ass

This was a project for Dr. Selden's Social Psychology course at Wilkes in 2010.  The goal was to create an infomercial that used as many of the methods of persuasion as possible.

Movie Rental Memories

Blowout Video
Airport Road - Hazleton, PA
The news of Hollywood Video closing reminded me of the Blowout Video rental store that was inside the Wal-Mart in Hazleton.  I worked there for a bit in 1999 while I was recovering from a car accident.  The store changed from Blowout Video to Movie Gallery while I was still working there, and our stock at the time was entirely VHS tapes and games for Playstation and Nintendo 64.  It closed sometime in the mid 2000's.

It was a great summer job.  We got unlimited free rentals, and we had a pretty impressive collection of horror and science fiction, so I got to catch up on a lot of movies that I've always wanted to see.  We were also allowed to put a movie on the televisions that hung in the top corners of the store (the old CRT boxes of the late 90's).  The only rule was that I couldn't show a movie that had profanity or nudity.  The Wedding Singer was one of my go-to selections, and I got really good at knowing exactly when to hit mute during Adam Sandler's rendition of "Somebody Kill Me".

The Sun Sets On Hollywood

Hollywood Video
Weis Lane - West Hazleton, PA
This has been my favorite video store in town since they opened.  They had an excellent selection of horror flicks and anime.  I first discovered Neon Genesis Evangelion here.  I was able to pick up a ton of tapes for a dollar each when they made the switch to DVD.  They also had an incredible subscription service that let you take out three movies at a time for one monthly membership fee.  I'm going to miss this place.

The Dawn Of The Whiz Kids

Life Magazine
March 27, 1950
This article was published during Spring Training in 1950.  This season's Philadelphia Phillies ballclub, which would go down in history as the Whiz Kids, went 91-63 to overtake the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants to win their second pennant in franchise history.  [1][2]

Taco Fueled Retro Gaming

Atari Kids Meal
Taco Bell (2010)

For a limited time, you will receive a vintage Atari game on CD Rom with any purchase of a Taco Bell Kids Meal.  Each game is compatible with Windows or Mac, and will also be available to purchase separately for about $1.50 per game.

The four games that are available are Asteroids, Super Breakout, Lunar Lander and Centipede.  There are three different levels of difficult, and each CD Rom includes a port of the original game as well as a second version of the game based on the Atari Classics Evolved re-release on PSP.

Is It Worse To Live As A Monster, Or Die As A Good Man

The Crazies / Shutter Island
RC Theaters Movies 14 - Wilkes-Barre, PA
We took in a double feature on Saturday that included a remake of a classic George Romero horror flick from 1973 and the film adaptation of a Dennis Lehane psychological mystery novel.

The Crazies was originally written and directed in 1973 by zombie film icon George A. Romero.  It shares a lot of the same qualities as a zombie flick, but the threat doesn't come from the dead coming back to life to attack the living.  It instead comes from people who have been infected with a virus who have been driven mad and attack those who are healthy.  On the surface, this may seem like an unimportant detail, but it adds an element that isn't present in every zombie film.  A zombie is already dead, so shooting it in the head is just "deactivating" a body that's already dead, but if you shoot a person who's sick, you're killing them.  Now, imagine that the person you're shooting is a friend, or a family member, or your spouse, or your child.  The idea that you're killing someone who can't help themselves instead of helping to cure them is a whole different story compared to putting down a zombie.

This is a plot device that was done to perfection in 28 Days Later, and while the remake of The Crazies doesn't quite reach that level, it's a damn good film that lives up to, if not surpasses, the source material.

I haven't read the novel that Shutter Island is based on, but I might have to check it out because the movie was absolutely incredible.  Leonardo DiCaprio is gold in just about everything he does, and this film is no exception.

The story is set in the 1950's with two US Marshals traveling to an asylum as a part of their investigation on the disappearance of a woman who killed her children.  Anything more that I could say would run the risk of spoiling parts of the story, but the mystery unfolds with several very satisfying twists and turns, and the end result is the best movie I've seen in quite a while.  I strongly recommend it.

The BK Broiler

BK Broiler
Burger King (1990-2002)
The BK Broiler is one of my favorite fast food sandwiches that I've ever eaten.  It was reformulated a few times during its run, and was eventually replaced by the Chicken Whopper in 2002.  Although the Chicken Whopper is, in my opinion, a much catchier name, they changed something about the chicken patty, so the sandwich wasn't as tasty as the one that I fell in love with as a teenager.

The BK Broiler was added to the Burger King menu in February 1990.  It was a broiled chicken patty that was originally served on an oat bran roll with lettuce, tomato and a dill-ranch mayonnaise dressing.  Unlike most of the fast food chicken sandwiches I've had over the years, the chicken wasn't dry or rubbery.  It was tender, juicy and absolutely delicious.  It tasted like the kind of sandwich that you could get at Chick-fil-A, but at a fraction of the cost, and from a fast food chain that was much easier to find in my part of Pennsylvania.

I didn't try one of these when they first came out in 1990, but I ate a lot of them when I worked at Burger King as a teenager in 1995 and 1996.  I don't remember them having a special bun or sauce by that point.  I'm pretty sure we just used the Whopper buns and mayo, but I could be wrong.  When I made my own sandwiches for my break, I usually topped it with bacon, pickles, lettuce, tomato and just a little bit of mayo.  That wasn't the standard sandwich recipe, but anybody could order it like that if they wanted to.  Their motto was "have it your way" after all, and I'm sure the franchise owners were all happy to add whatever the upcharge was for bacon.

I really think they could make this successful if it was marketed correctly.  Even if they weren't committed to making it an everyday menu item, it could be a big hit if they made it a seasonal item and treated it with the same reverence in their advertisement that McDonald's has for their McRib and Shamrock Shake.

 

I lied about my age to work at Burger King when I was 15, so that slogan must have had an impact.
Actually, it's become somewhat of a lifestyle choice for me.

Sadly, the BK Broiler doesn't seem to be coming back any time soon, but it lives on through nerdy blogs like this.  There are also a few copycat recipes on the web.  I haven't tried any of them yet, but it's not a super complicated sandwich, so I'm thinking it wouldn't take too much trial and error to replicate it at home.  I'll have to give it a shot one of these days.

It's Snow Fair

Winters Avenue
West Hazleton, PA

Winter On Winters Avenue

Winters Avenue
West Hazleton, PA

Peeking Into The Past Of Pantry Quik

Pantry Quik
Hazleton, PA (1980)
These photos were published in the February 1980 issue of the Candy Marketer trade magazine.

There's a lot of candy and gum in the first picture.  I could make out Hershey Bars, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kat, Krackel, Snickers, Milky Way, Switzer Licorice, Bit-O-Honey, Life Savers, Bubble Yum, and Gold Rush bubble gum.  The second and third pictures have Pringles, Cracker Jack, Planters Nuts, Crunch 'N Munch, Screaming Yellow Zonkers, and Jiffy Pop Popcorn, among many other things that I couldn't make out.  The last picture shows Wise Potato Chips, a Tastykake display, and a box of 1979 Topps Football Cards.  Again, there's lots of other things in the picture, but I can't tell what they are.

I spent a longer part of the day than I'd like to admit trying to pin down the approximate date that these photos were taken.  I'm not absolutely positive, but I think the magazine rack behind the manager's head in the third picture are Women's Day, Family Circle, and National Enquirer.  The Women's Day cover doesn't really show much of anything, and I wasn't able to find any National Enquirer issues that had the words "Miracle" or "Beat" on the cover, but I'm reasonably sure that the Family Circle matches the September 18, 1979 issue that has Pam Dawber from Mork & Mindy on the cover, so I'm thinking that it's a safe bet that these photos were taken sometime in late September 1979.

My Study Spot

E.S. Farley Library - third floor
Wilkes University
This is the comfiest sofa in the world, and it just so happens to be at the quietest spot on campus.

The Forgotten DX

D-Generation X mouse pad
World Wrestling Federation (2000)
The WWF had lots of DX merchandise over the years, but this one is a bit odd because it's made up of perhaps the least known incarnation of the faction.

On the far left hand side is Tori, who was only a member of the group for about five months in early 2000.  She was sidelined with an injury after her appearance at King Of The Ring and left DX upon her return.  On the right, you'll see that "Road Dogg" Jesse James stands alone, without his New Age Outlaws tag team partner.  The team split up when "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn was kicked out of DX the day after the No Way Out pay-per-view.  The presence of Tori and absence of Billy Gunn dates this item to sometime between February 28th and June 25th, 2000.

Holograms For Breakfast

Hologram Cereal Boxes
Ralston Purina (1990)
I wasn't an especially big fan of the way that any of these cereals tasted, but you can't deny that they had some of the coolest boxes in the cereal aisle.

So I Cynically Say The World Is That Way

Reading Writing and Arithmetic
The Sundays (1990)
The first studio album from The Sundays was released twenty years ago today.  I never owned it or listened to any more than the first single that it produced, but that track is one of my favorite songs that I've ever heard.

Here's Where The Story Ends
The Sundays (1990)

People I know, places I go

Make me feel tongue-tied

I can see how people look down

They're on the inside

Here's where the story ends

People I see, weary of me

Showing my good side

I can see how people look down

I'm on the outside

Here's where the story ends

It's that little souvenir of a terrible year

Which makes my eyes feel sore

Oh, I never should have said the books that you read

Were all I loved you for 

 

It's that little souvenir of a terrible year

Which makes me wonder why

And it's the memories of the shed that make me turn red

Surprise, surprise, surprise

Crazy, I know, places I go

Make me feel so tired

I can see how people look down

I'm on the outside

Here's where the story ends

It's that little souvenir of a terrible year

Which makes my eyes feel sore

And who ever would have thought the books that you brought

Were all I loved you for? 

 

Oh, the devil in me said, "Go down to the shed"

I know where I belong

But the only thing I ever really wanted to say

Was wrong, was wrong, was wrong

It's that little souvenir of a colorful year

Which makes me smile inside

So I cynically, cynically say the world is that way

Surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise

Here's where the story ends

Strange Things Are Afoot At Japanese Circle K

Pac-Man Buns
Circle K (2010)
For a limited time, Circle K convenience stores in Japan will be selling Pac-Man desert buns fulled with crushed almond cookies and cream custard (source: Technabob).

I Don't Like People, To Be Honest

Morrissey
Friday Night With Jonathan Ross - BBC One (May 14, 2004)
In just seven words, Morrissey has summed up my feelings on social interaction.  The sooner I accept this and stop pretending, the happier I think I'll be.  Click here to see the full interview.

Best Buy-2k

Y2K Warning Sticker
Best Buy (1999)
Ten years ago, much of the world had fallen into a mild mass hysteria over the fear of the Y2K Bug.  The panic was born out of the idea that many computers only used the last two digits of the year in their coding.  This meant that when the clock rolling over from December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000, the computer would misunderstand the two digit "00" year as 1900 and crash the system.

This story made the media rounds throughout 1999 with "experts" predicting all manner of things, from airplanes dropping out of the sky to a power grid shutdown that would cause citywide blackouts at the stroke of midnight in the dawn of the new millennium.  Stores like Best Buy advised their customers to turn off, and in some cases even unplug their electronic devices on New Year's Eve before midnight.

I thought it was all a lot of nonsense at the time.  The vast majority of computers had switched to a four digit year long ago, and I couldn't imagine it would take a Bill Gates or Steve Jobs to write a code to patch whatever machines or programs that were still in use that operated with a two digit year.  Still, my grandparents fell for the panic and insisted that I remember to turn off the computer, just in case.

I worked third shift at Turkey Hill on Rt. 93 and Airport Road in Hazleton at the time, so my shift that night started at 11 pm on December 31st and ended at 7 am in the new millennium.  After my shift, I came home and turned on the computer.  Sure enough, everything worked normally.  From my understanding, the biggest impact the Y2K Bug had in the United States was a brief shutdown of about 150 slot machines at a race track in Delaware.

Walking Through Black Diamond

Black Diamond Antiques & Collectibles
Schuylkill Mall - Frackville, PA
Angie and I took a trip to Black Diamond to buy some vintage toys and collectibles as an early Christmas present to ourselves.  This is an almost 20 minute walk-through of the store.

Black Diamond is an incredible place to walk around and spend a few hours.  If you get tired, the other side of the mall has a movie theater to spend a few hours relaxing.

Win With Santa Mario

Nintendo Holiday Game Commercial
Pepsi (1989)

A Festive Hockey Tradition

Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins vs Toronto Marlies
Wachovia Arena - Wilkes Barre, PA

Over the past several years, it has become a tradition to go to the last Baby Pens game of the year before Christmas.  It didn't go the Penguins way this year, with the Marlies winning 4-3 on the strength of the first career hat trick by Troy Bodie.

The Penguins briefly held the lead during the second period, but the Marlies quickly tied up the game and then took the lead shortly afterward when former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman  Nate Guenin fell to an injury.

Even though the Penguins lost, the game was a lot of fun.  Tux spent the game wandering around the crowd with his female counterpart.  I'm not sure if she was supposed to be his mom or his wife, but either way, they spiced up the game.

 

One of the traditions the Baby Pens have every year in the game before Christmas is the Teddy Bear Toss.  Fans bring new stuffed toys to the arena, and when Santa comes out on the ice in his sleigh between periods, everyone tosses their bears onto the ice where they are collected to be given to children.  It's a pretty cool sight to see hundreds of teddy bears flying through the air toward the ice.

We bought one souvenir at the game - an autographed Christmas hockey puck.  They were wrapped in red tissue paper, and you didn't know what player you would get until you bought one and opened it up.  My puck was signed by goalie Adam Berkhoel.  The 28 year old is an NHL veteran who played for the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2005-06 season.

The Pink Stars Are Falling

Under The Dome
Stephen King (2009)
This is right up there with The Stand in my list of favorite Stephen King novels.

A Day In The Life

My final for Digital Photography was a "day in the life" project in which I was to capture a typical day in a series of images that show some of the techniques taught by Professor Sedor.  I used my grandfather as the subject.  These are my favorite photos from the set.

Vincent Van Moose

Fifty years ago today, Rocky & His Friends aired for the first time.  It was broadcast on ABC after American Bandstand, and it was the highest rated daytime show.  It helped to establish Jay Ward as one of the most creative and hysterically funny creators in the history of animation, and it led to Bullwinkle's rise from a sock puppet to a household name everywhere that cartoons are shown.

This picture came from a t-shirt that was used to promote the VHS release of The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle.  Each tape in the series was a parody of a famous work of art.  To those of us who love animation, the works of Jay Ward are valuable works of art in their own right.