Never Stick A Steak Knife In An Electrical Outlet

Kevin J. McGroarty obituary
Citizens Voice (July 26, 2014)

This is my kind of guy.  Mr. McGroarty passed away five days ago, but he wrote his own obituary and it is memorable.  I was a student at LCCC while he was working there as an adjunct professor.  I didn't have him as a teacher, but if I did, I would definitely attend his funeral to hear the brief rant of how the government screwed up all of the Bugs Bunny cartoons.

Times Square 1964

Times Square (July 1964)
New York City, NY
The photo can be dated by the Embassy Theater on the right hand side.  The Barbara Barrie and Bernie Hamilton drama "One Potato, Two Potato" is advertised on the marquee.

Good News

The Times Leader

Wilkes-Barre, PA  (July 24, 2014)

Hey, at least we're #1 in something.  Eat it, St. Joseph, Missouri!

It Can Be Quite Surprising...

Source: cggx (Reddit)

Clown Cash

Dollar Coin
2004 Gathering Of The Juggalos
I saved a few of these and recently found them in a box with ticket stubs.

Mario Kart Momma

Mario Kart Wii
Nintendo Wii (2008)
Mom trying out Mario Kart Wii for the first time.  I think that she liked it.

Stone Cold At The Plate

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Terry Francona
Veterans Stadium - Philadelphia, PA (1999)

Fifteen years ago, the former WWF Champion paid a visit to Veterans Stadium to take batting practice with the Phillies prior to their interleague game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Source: Philadelphia Daily News (left) / Courier Post (right) - July 10, 1999

Austin didn't stun too many folks with his batting practice, but his appearance kicked off a fun night in Philadelphia.  Curt Schilling pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on eight hits for his 13th win of the season.  This improved the Phillies record to 46-38 and was the first time they reached eight games over .500 since 1995.

 

Source: Lancaster New Era - July 10, 1999

I don't remember seeing anything about it during the game, but there was a lot of awesome footage of his appearance that aired on the July 18th episode of WWF Superstars.

Fast Food Inflation

McDonalds Restaurant Menu (1972)
You could have bought every item off of the menu for less than the cost of one of the Value Meals in 2014.

Sega In The UK

Sega Master System
Argos (1994)
Sega's 8-bit competitor to the NES may not have been much of a success in the United States, but it was a big hit in Brazil and throughout Europe.  This scan comes from an Argos catalog and features games that were sold at retail stores well into the 90's.

Breathing Lifelike Fire

4th Of July

Soundgarden (July 4, 2014)
Huge thanks to Kristy Maycurrie for sharing this video from yesterday's concert at Hyde Park.  She also recorded Limo Wreck, Kickstand, Mailman, and Fresh Tendrils.

Decorate Your Wiener For Uncle Sam

Frankie Doodle Dandy
Swift Premium (1977)
This is the only context in which it is recommended to dip anything into boiling water to get their legs to spread.

Three Decades Of 245 Trioxin

Return Of The Living Dead
Orion Pictures (1985)
The punk rock of zombie films began its story 30 years ago today when an employee of Uneeda Medical Supply accidentally busts open one of the drums containing a zombie from Night Of The Living Dead in 1967.

Have You Played With Your Breakfast Today

Denny's has partnered with Atari to release breakfast-themed remixes of Asteroids, Breakout and Centipede.  I hope that someone finds a way to put these onto cartridges that can play in a real console.

Crowning A New Philadelphia Hit King

Jimmy Rollins and Mike Schmidt
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
Leading off in the bottom of the 5th, Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins hit a single to right field off of Cubs starter Edwin Jackson.  It was the 2,235th hit of his career, which moved him past Mike Schmidt to become the Phillies all time hits leader.

J-Roll would go on to steal second and score on a Domonic Brown home run in the Phillies 7-4 victory over the Cubs.

Canned Pizza

Spread 'n Heat Pizza
Libby's (1975)

I never got to try this, but the idea has me intrigued and grossed out at the same time.  A canned spread that can turn a slice of toast into a piece of pizza?  Could be good... could be atrocious.

You're Going To Need A Visa To Catch This One

Major League trading cards
Topps (2014)

The 2014 Topps Archive set included a series of five cards that featured characters from the 1989 film Major League in the style of 1989 Topps cards, as well as limited edition autographed variants of these cards.  These include catcher Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger), rookie pitcher Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen), third baseman Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen), veteran pitcher Eddie Harris (Chelcie Ross), and team owner Rachel Phelps (Margaret Whitton).

Topps has also released a 5x7 variant of the Major League cards in a six card wax pack.  They're identical to their Topps Archive counterparts (except for their larger size), and they include a sixth card dedicated to Pedro Cerrano's voodoo doll, Jobu.

It's Ass Hammering Time

The calendar doesn't do it justice.  That Matt Stairs blast wasn't just any game-winning home run.  It was the Moon Shot from Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS.

It was the top of the 8th inning.  Shane Victorino hit a two run homer off of Cory Wade to tie the game.  The Dodgers brought in their closer, Jonathan Broxton to keep the damage to a minimum.  The Phillies brought in 40 year old Matt Stairs to pinch hit.  Stairs was just acquired in a trade with the Blue Jays just 44 days earlier, and his Moon Shot from the NLCS was etched into Philadelphia baseball history as it led to the Phillies second World Series Championship.  The bizarre quote only added to the legend.

Steer With Your Left, Shoot With Your Right

Night Stocker
Bally Sente (1986)
This picture popped up in my Tumblr feed.  I don't remember ever seeing an arcade cabinet that had a gun and a steering wheel.  It had me wondering if a game like this existed or if this is just a cool piece of art.

As it happens, it was a real game, but it's not one that I've seen or heard of before now.  Night Stocker was released in 1986 by Bally Sente.  It's a hybrid of a driving game and a first-person shooter where you have to avoid land mines, collect crystals, and blast away alien attackers on your way to a tower at the end of each level that you have to destroy.  It's a fun concept, and from this video shared on YouTube by Mame Video Snaps, it had pretty cool music and sound effects.

 

Looks like it was a pretty fun game.  I wish they had it in our local arcades back in the day.

Blockbuster Video Tape Case

Blockbuster Video Template
Created by Brutal Beta
I'd like to remodel my garage and use part of it to store my VHS collection in a video rental store mock-up.  If that ever happens, I'm going to use this template to make case covers for my movies that don't have the original box.

A Huge Step In The Right Direction

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge John Jones’ decision in Whitewood v. Wolf, the suit filed last year on behalf of several same-sex couples, strikes down Pennsylvania’s Defense of Marriage Act. His ruling comes one day after a federal judge ruled against Oregon’s gay marriage ban, and marks the 14th legal victory in a row for marriage equality.

[image source: American Atheists / article: Huffington Post]

Eskimo Pie

Eskimo Pie closed plant
Hanover Industrial Park - Wilkes-Barre, PA
I don't know anything about the history of this facility or when it closed, but the Eskimo Pie logo art is still visible on the side of the building above the shipping and receiving doors.  The building appears to have been abandoned since it closed.

The Lefty Slam

Wednesday, May 16, 1984
Philadelphia Phillies @ Los Angeles Dodgers
Dodgers Stadium - Los Angeles, CA

Thirty years ago today, a battle between Phillies legend Steve Carlton and Dodgers 24 year old phenom Fernando Valenzuela took place at Dodgers Stadium.  The Dodgers were leading by the top of the fourth when the Phillies began to mount their comeback.  With the bases loaded and two outs, Steve Carlton hit a grand slam off of Fernando Valenzuela to take the lead.  The Phillies went on to win 7-2.

Pink Warrior

Photography by Marie Killen

Source: NovaThunder

I don't know the name of the model that Ms. Killen took these photos of, but her pictures have inspired me to write about something that I haven't shared with very many people in my life.  For as far back as I can remember, I've wished that I was born as a girl instead of a boy.  The intensity of these feelings goes in and out like the tide; sometimes it's strong and other times it gets pushed to the back of my mind, but it's never gone.  The feeling is always there.

This isn't something that I feel comfortable pursing as a lifestyle for many reasons that I'm not going to discuss at this time.  Things might have been different if I was born 20 years later or grew up in a more open-minded and supportive environment, but coming out of the transgender closet or attempting to express this side of myself in any way that is very obvious to the general public would cause more problems for me than it would solve.  My wife knows and she is very loving and supportive, but I have a hard enough time with social situations when I'm wearing a t-shirt and jeans and I don't want to make things more complicated than they have to be.  Besides, it's not like these feelings are causing me intense depression or anything like that.  I look in the mirror and see a guy in a Phillies shirt and I think "eh, good enough".  If reincarnation is real, maybe I'll get a shot to live as a girl next time... or maybe I already did and that's where these feelings are coming from.  Who knows.

The style that I'd see myself adopting if I was born as a girl would be far closer to Joan Jett than Barbie, but this look absolutely speaks to my soul.  If I woke up tomorrow as this woman with this dress in my closet, I'd put it on and run to the highest mountaintop I could find and scream at the top of my lungs to let the world know I was here.

The King Comes To West Palm Beach

Friday, May 13, 1994
St. Petersburg Cardinals @ West Palm Beach Expos
Municipal Stadium - West Palm Beach, FL

Pitching: Brian Carpenter vs. Rick DeHart

Results: Expos defeat Cardinals, 12 - 3

Notes: Before going to this game, my dad told me all about The King and His Court.  They were a four man softball team (pitcher, catcher, first baseman and shortstop) led by pitcher Eddie Feigner.  Since the late 1940's, they toured around the country playing local opponents.  Like the Harlem Globetrotters, they used trick plays and humor to entertain crowds.  The main one my dad told me about was Feigner throwing the ball behind his back to pick off the runner on first base.

On this night, we watched Israel Alcántara hit a grand slam in the first inning off of Brian Carpenter.  The West Palm Beach Expos scored a dozen runs in their route of the St. Petersburg Cardinals.

The game also included second baseman José Vidro, who went 2-4 and scored three runs for West Palm Beach.  He was promoted to the major league Expos in 1997 and was their starting second basemen for the rest of their time in Montreal and for the first two seasons after the team moved to Washington DC and became the Nationals.  He was traded to the Mariners in December 2006 and played the next two years.  He was a three-time All Star in his major league career.

Curtis Pride was another West Palm Beach Expos player who appeared in this game and went on to have a notable major league career.  He played for Montreal the year before this game and was the first deaf player to appear in the major leagues since 1945.  He played in the majors from 1993 to 2006 for the Expos, Tigers, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees and Angels.

After the game, The King and His Court defeated the Abbey Road Grill All-Stars softball team in an awesome exhibition match.  At the time, it was advertised as the last appearance of Eddie Feigner at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium.  I'm pretty sure he came back the very next year, but it was the only time I got to see him.  It's been twenty years and I can't remember the score of the softball game, but I'll never forget the fun I had with my pop at the ballpark on nights like this.

What's The Deal With The Subway?

Eleven subway cars on New York's No. 7 line have been transformed into Monk's Cafe to promote the fact that Seinfeld will be in syndication on WPIX at 11:00 pm.  [source: USA Today]

[source: USA Today]

The Laurel Lives On

Standard Speaker
May 10, 2014

Sometimes The Acorn Does Fall Far From The Tree

Tony Gwynn Jr
Philadelphia Phillies (2014)
It's going to be a long season.