The Duel

The Duel
by Aaron Jasinski
An acrylic on wood panel work that will be shown at the Screaming Sky Gallery.

Zombies and Space Junk

Wang Chung
Space Junk
From the Wang Chung's Greatest Hits album (1997)
This was the perfect song to end the premier episode of The Walking Dead.  Eerie, ominous, and a fitting entry to this universe.  "Welcome to my world..."

Secret Squirrel

Wilkes University greenway
Wilkes-Barre, PA

The Loss Of Another Icon

Standard Speaker
Hazleton, PA  (October 29. 2010)
After 73 years in business, Knotty Pine on Route 309 in Hazleton will be closing their doors.

Colorful October

Wilkes University greenway
Wilkes-Barre, PA
It's a beautiful autumn day on campus.

Wednesday Morning

I forget where I found this shirt, but it's one of my favorites.

Vintage Horror Under The Stars

Laurel Drive-In
Annual Horror Classics Weekend

I've been coming here since I was a little kid.  Their last weekend of the season was a double feature of two classic horror films, Drive-In Massacre and Gates Of Hell.

Thursday Dinner

It's not easy to get a photo of Grandpa smiling.  You have to catch him when he's laughing at something.

Fun With Statistics

Breiseth Hall
Wilkes University
My statistics course fried my brain a bit, but Dr. Selden got me through it.  She's had this comic on the door of her office since my first day and I smile ever time I see it.

Crush O'Lantern

Wegmans
Wilkes-Barre, PA

Maize Maze

Roba Family Farms
North Abington Township, PA
We're nearly halfway through the corn maze.

Jan Brett at Wegmans

The Twelve Days Of Christmas
Jan Brett (1986)

Angie and I both worked a shift at Wegman's today.  Her day was a lot more interesting than mine because she was put in charge of managing the shoppers who came to see Jan Brett.  The artist spent a few hours at the store to meet fans, sign autographs, and talk about her newest book, The 3 Little Dassies.  She signed this book for us before she left as a thank you.

Free Snazzy Black Shirt

Wegman's Sub Shop
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Not a bad gig.  They work with my school schedule pretty well.

When Hemingway Met Iwatani

Pac Man 30th Anniversary Notebook
Moleskine

The Whiz Kids

1950 Philadelphia Phillies
The Whiz Kids played Game 1 of the World Series 60 years ago today.  It was only the second time in franchise history (dating back to 1883) that the Phillies reached the World Series.  They were swept by the New York Yankees, and they wouldn't return to the Fall Classic for another 30 years.

Dutch, Whitey And The Kruker

Darren Daulton, Richie Ashburn and John Kruk
Three icons of Philadelphia baseball who will never be forgotten.

Bloomsburg Fair 2010

Bloomsburg Fair (2010)
I love going into the display buildings when it's still daylight outside and going outside to see that the sun has gone down and the park is all lit up.  The Bloomsburg Fair is one of my favorite places in the world.  I'd come here for the full week if I didn't have work and school.

Anyone Need An Eight Inch Emmylou Harris Decal?

Sticker Stand
Bloomsburg Fair (2010)
Though not it's official name (unless I managed to guess it correctly), the Sticker Stand is one of the places I always make a point to visit at the Bloomsburg Fair.  I don't think they've updated their stock since Kurt Cobain was alive, but they have well over a thousand different decals, bumper stickers and other random stuff.  Some of it is music related, some of it is political (both sides), some of it is pretty offensive, and some of it is pretty damn old.  I have to wonder how a teenager today interprets a parody Fahrvergnügen car decal.  They probably think it's a Norwegian metal band.

Neon Pepsi

80's Neon Pepsi Sign
Bloomsburg Fair (2010)

Waffles And Ice Cream

Waffles & Ice Cream stand
Bloomsburg Fair (2010)
One of the best parts of the Bloomsburg Fair is all of the good food.

It's All Right

Here Comes The Sun
The Beatles (1969)
These are the original lyrics hand-written by George Harrison for one of the most iconic songs to ever be recorded.  It was released 40 years ago.

Looking For Jupiter

Looking For Jupiter
September 20, 2010
The planet Jupiter is closer to the Earth tonight than it has been since 1963.

Psychles Staff

Wilkes University
2010 Psych Department Picnic
Kirby Park - Wilkes Barre, PA

Don't Be A Tuna Head

Maniac Mansion
Nintendo Entertainment System (1990)

The NES port of Maniac Mansion was released twenty years ago today.  I spent countless hours playing this game and, with the help of Nintendo Power, solving its puzzles with every combination of characters.

It wasn't until many years later that I had an opportunity to play the original on Commodore 64 and the enhanced DOS edition.  Both of those versions are superior to the one that was released on the NES, but censored or not, the console version will always have a special place in my heart and bring back fond memories of my childhood.

It's A Modern Stone-Age University

Henry Student Center
Wilkes University - Wilkes-Barre, PA
My thanks go out to campus security for their constant vigilance.

Crash Into A Tree With Launchpad McQuack

Duck Tales Kite Offer
Hi-C (1990)

Mortal Monday

Mortal Kombat ad
KayBee Toys (1993)
The impact that this game had cannot be overestimated.  Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter 2 brought arcade gaming back to the forefront in the early 90's, and the home console release gave the Sega a rare victory over Nintendo.  Due to their family friendly company policies, Nintendo didn't allow the Super Nintendo version to have blood and many of the fatalities were toned down.  Meanwhile, the Genesis port had unlockable bloody graphics by way of the ABACABB code.  It may seem like a little thing, but it was the deciding factor in a lot of kids who chose the Genesis over the SNES on their Christmas wish list.  This was a mistake that Nintendo wouldn't make with the sequel.

Carmen's Restaurant

Carmen's Family Restaurant
Broad Street - Hazleton, PA
This was my first real job.  I was a busboy at Carmen's when I was 15 years old.  The food was incredible and my co-workers were all pretty awesome.  I enjoyed working there, especially on Friday nights during the seafood buffet in the back dining room.

Carmen's closed a few years ago and re-opened a few different times under different names and new ownership.  These days, it's called the Crystal Barbecue.  I stopped in to see the place during Funfest.  They took out a few rows of booths and the front counter with the register and the revolving pie rack, but it appears that the back wall of the front dining room looks the same.

Off The Beaten Path: Farmer's Iced Tea

Off The Beaten Path (WYLN TV)
Farmer's Iced Tea 
The green and yellow carton has been a fixture in Hazleton since long before I was born..

MJ Playing DK

Today would have been Michael Jackson's 52nd birthday.  I'm not a religious man, but I'd like to think that his spirit is chilling out in an arcade in another world, free from the people who exploited him and his talents for practically his entire life.

The Past vs The Present

Monday, August 23, 2010
Houston Astros @ Philadelphia Phillies
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Pitching: Brett Myers vs. Joe Blanton
Results: Astros defeat Phillies, 3 - 2
[Photo Album]

Notes: Seeing former Phillies come back to Citizen's Bank Park on their new teams has always been something I look forward to.  Seeing Joe Blanton pitch against Brett Myers, two members of the 2008 World Champion Phillies rotation going head-to-head, is like a dream come true.

Another former Phillie, Michael Bourn, started off the game strong for the Astros.  He singled off of Blanton, stole second, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Hunter Pence.  The Phillies tied the game in the third when Carlos Ruiz hit his sixth home run of the season.  They took the lead later in the inning after Chase Utley hit an RBI single that allowed Jimmy Rollins to score.

In the sixth, Bourn again singled and stole second, but he didn't score this time.  Rookie phenom Domonic Brown, who made his major league debut less than a month ago, came into the game to pinch hit for Joe Blanton in the 7th to start a rally, but Shane Victorino hit into a double play to end the inning.

The game got away from the us in the eighth when another former Phillie, Jason Michaels, singled off of Ryan Madson.  Bourn came back to haunt us again in a controversial moment when he bunted to put runners on first and second.  We were having dinner at Harry The K's by this point in the game, so I was pretty far from the action, but on the monitors, it looked to me like Ryan Howard tagged him out.  Besides that, Bourn ran a mile outside of the basepath which should have resulted in an out even if Howard missed the tag, but the umpire called him safe.  Charlie Manual agreed with me (and every fan in attendance, and every sensible fan watching at home), but he was ejected from the game for arguing with the ump.  It was a ridiculous call, and it led to the Astros win.  Carlos Lee singled with two outs to score Michaels and Bourn to give the Astros a 3 - 2 lead which they held for the win.

The first base umpire was the real MVP of the game for Houston, but if you're looking solely at the Astros lineup, the 2005-2006 Phillies (Brett Myers, Michael Bourn and Jason Michaels) defeated the 2010 Phillies last night.

Wildwood In The 80's

This photo was taken sometime in the early 80's and was used for a Wildwood postcard.  I can almost smell the ocean air when I look at this.

The Opening Act For Tears For Fears

Scott Pilgrim vs The World
AMC Loews 34th Street - New York, NY
We made it to the city on Thursday a few hours before the doors opened for the Tears For Fears concert.  There was an AMC Theater across the street and we had time to kill, so we decided to go see whatever movie was playing next, which ended up being the 3:40 showing of Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

I'm told that this movie is based on a series of graphic novels.  I can't say that I've ever read them, so I have no idea how close this comes to the source material, but it was an enjoyable flick.  There were large parts of the movie that made me feel as if I was watching someone play an elaborate video game, but I'm pretty sure that's what they were going for.  It has some funny moments, but some of the humor kind of fell flat with me.  This is one of those movies that I'm glad to have gotten to see on the big screen, but one screening is plenty for me.  

The Ride of Your Life

Wilkes University
Henry Student Center - South Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA
Hold on tight.  We're going to the restroom.

Family Visit

My grandmother's cousins, Carol and Mary Lois, were in town today and stopped by for a visit.  Carol is the woman to the right of my grandmother in the white shirt, and Mary Lois is sitting in front of them.  We had a very nice time drinking coffee and looking at old photos of the family, and pictures that Mary Lois took when she was visiting our family in Italy.

I Am Head Over Heels

Tears For Fears
August 19, 2010 - Hammerstein Ballroom - Manhattan Center - New York, NY

Tears For Fears is one of my favorite bands of all time, and I can't begin to explain how amazing it felt to see them.  I'll write more about the show later, but for now, here is the setlist:

For Quazy Energy

Quisp cereal
They brought back one of Jay Ward's most beloved breakfast creations.

A Boat Ride Through The Dungeon

Castle Dracula: Dungeon Boat Ride
Nickel's Midway Pier - Wildwood, NJ
This is the other video that was recently shared by Onneff69 on YouTube.  This is a complete video of the Dungeon Boat Ride portion of Castle Dracula.  My family and I went to Wildwood every summer in the 80's when I was a kid, and this boat ride was one of the parts of our vacation that I enjoyed and looked forward to the most.  I'm very thankful that someone captured this amazing attraction and shared it with the world.

A Walk Through The Castle

Castle Dracula
Nickel's Midway Pier - Wildwood, NJ
Youtube user Onneff69 shared a couple of amazing home videos that were recorded in June 1991.  This is a walkthrough of one of my favorite places in the world and a cherished memory from my childhood.  Unfortunately, Castle Dracula was burned down by two teenagers in 2002 so future generations will never be able to experience first hand how truly awesome this place was.

Make Out Like A Bandit

Easy Pickins Quiz scratch-off card
McDonald's (1980)
The Burt Reynolds classic Smokey & The Bandit 2 premiered in theaters thirty years ago today.  Back in the day, you could stop at McDonald's for a bite to eat on the way home and save $2 on the movie soundtrack if you knew a little bit of history about the 17th President of the United States.

Spider Man Catch

Hiroshima Carp vs Yokohama BayStars
August 3, 2010
Center fielder Masato Akamatsu of Hiroshima makes an unbelievable catch that robs Yokohama 3B Shuichi Murata of a home run. This has gone viral as the "Spider Man Catch".  [Source: CBS]

Off The Beaten Path: Third Base Luncheonette

Off The Beaten Path (WYLN TV)
Third Base Luncheonette
A third-generation restaurant that are known around town for two reasons: having tasty hoagies, and being run by the parents of Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon. If you're watching a game in Hazleton and someone hits a triple, chances are that you've been conditioned to get hungry in a way that would make Pavlov proud.