Zombies At The Wienerwald

Dawn Of The Dead
Embassy 1 on 7th Avenue - New York, NY

The George A. Romero zombie classic premiered in Italy on September 1, 1978, but it didn't make its way to the United States until the following April.  This photo was taken sometime in the second half of April, 1979 with it being screened at the Embassy 1 near Times Square.

The last time I wrote about this theater, I mentioned that the 1560 Broadway property to the right was once a Weinerwald Austrian Restaurant, but by the time that photo was taken, it had already been converted into a McDonald's.  In this photo, you can see the original Weinerwald when it was in its prime.

While researching Weinerwald, I found another photo of the restaurant that also includes the marquee from the Embassy 1 theater next door.  This one was taken by photographer Nick DeWolf at a time when the Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner disaster film Earthquake was being shown.

There's a lot more information about this Weinerwald location on the NY History Geschichte blog.

Freddy vs Jason Closes Out The 80's

Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter
Paramount Pictures (1984)
The fourth and not-quite final chapter in the Friday The 13th saga premiered in theaters 30 years ago today.  This WPIX advertisement is for an airing that took place on November 2nd, 1989.  The network followed this up the next night with A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors as the 8 O'Clock Movie.

Loving Brew Is The Right Thing To Do

Source: Imgur

April Fool

This person ran out of space to share their opinions and has resorted to printing paper signs that threaten gun violence to hang on their back windshield.  Yup... totally normal behavior right here.  😏

A Win Is A Win

Opening Day 2014
Philadelphia Phillies @ Texas Rangers

That was an interesting start to the season.  Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz walked in the top of the 2nd and Code Asche doubled with two outs to put the Phillies on the board.  Tony Gwynn Jr came up to bat next and drew a walk to load the bases, followed by a Ben Revere RBI single to put the Phillies up 2-0.  This brought Jimmy Rollins to the plate who hit a grand slam to give the Phillies what should have been a comfortable 6-0 lead for Cliff Lee to cruise to an easy victory.

Well, Cliff Lee did get the win, but it was anything but an easy cruise.  He got knocked around by his former team, giving up 8 earned runs on 11 hits and just one strikeout in five innings of work.  The slugfest continued for both teams, but the Phillies came out on top, scoring 14 runs on 17 hits to defeat the Rangers 14-10.

Unfortunately, one player that I had been rooting for this Spring did not make the flight to Arlington with the team.

Philadelphia Daily News  (March 27, 2014)

Philadelphia Daily News  (March 28, 2014)

Bobby Abreu didn't make the Phillies 40 man roster out of Spring Training.  He was pretty solid at the plate, batting .244 with a .404 OBP, but he was pretty terrible in the field and the team was looking for more defensive versatility off of the bench.  He signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets today, so my dream of seeing him close out his career in Philadelphia is officially dead in the water.  

 

Oh well... at least he was in a Phillies uniform long enough to be included in this year's postcard team set, and we got the win on Opening Day.  It was bowling shoe ugly, but hey, a win is a win.

A Door Is A Jar

When I was a teenager, I drove a black 1986 Chrysler LeBaron.  It had pretty much every option that was available in the late 80's: leather seats, digital dash, AM/FM Cassette, etc…  The damn thing even talked!  If you opened the door while the car was still running, a very robotic female voice would exclaim “A door is ajar”, to which I would always respond “No it’s not.  It’s a door” (yes, I had a running joke with an inanimate object).

The car was over ten years old when I got it, but it was only $1,000 and it ran beautifully.  Unfortunately, I only had it for a few years.  Someone broke into it while I was at a concert and ripped it apart and the cost to repair it was more than the car was worth.  I don't think that I have any pictures of the interior of the car, but this image that I saw on Tumblr is pretty close to how I remember it.

Paradise By The Deli Case Lights

Homestyle Meatloaf
Wegmans - Wilkes-Barre, PA

Don't sleep on the Homestyle Meatloaf from the Meals To Go counter at Wegmans.  It's outstanding!

Movin' On Up

I've been promoted to Consumer Experience Specialist at work.  This is basically the quality coach for our team, so my new role will be to monitor phone calls, email, chat, postal mail, and social media correspondence and to provide feedback.

Monkey Muscle For Breakfast

Donkey Kong Junior Cereal
Ralston (1984)

I wish I would have had the opportunity to try this cereal, but I was 3 years old when it first hit store shelves.  Bummer.

A Memento From A Lost Season

Philadelphia Phillies mini jersey
Kellogg's Canada (1994)

To the best of my knowledge, this promotion didn't cross the border into the United States, but if you bought a specially-marked box of Kellogg's Cereal in Canada back in 1994, you would receive a free mini MLB team jersey.

This promotion was part of the celebration of the 125th season of MLB.  Unfortunately, the season ended on August 12th with the start of the player's strike that resulted in the cancellation of the World Series.

Veterans (Stadium) Day

Veterans Stadium
Philadelphia, PA
The Vet was imploded ten years ago today.  It was home to the Phillies for over three decades, and it was the site of the franchise first World Series Championship in 1980.  Fun fact: The Vet was also home to the 1986 Great American Bash in which the main event saw Ric Flair defeat Ricky Morton in a steel cage match to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Things That Bounce In Wilkes-Barre

Don't tell me there's nothing to do in the Wyoming Valley.

My Little Backpack

A nine year old boy in North Carolina was being bullied by a few kids in elementary school because he had a My Little Pony backpack.  Instead of punishing the bullies and doing their job to create a harassment-free environment for the children who are in their care, they punished the victim by telling him that he couldn't use his backpack in school.  How twisted is this?

My Little Pony was around when I was a kid.  It was definitely considered a "girls" cartoon back in the day, but I think that even the most bigoted simpleton would have a difficult time finding something in the show that is in any way inappropriate for boys.  That is, of course, besides the point.  There shouldn't be a problem if he carried a Barbie backpack and wore pink barrettes in his hair if it makes him happy because it literally would not hurt anybody in this world if he did, but the fact that the school would have such a huge problem about a kid carrying a backpack from a cartoon that's about ponies and friendship should show you what's going on here.  The school district is siding with the bullies out of pure laziness.  It's easier to force one kid to conform to playground gender norms than it is to teach a hateful little bastard that abusing others is wrong.

The school district's laziness isn't doing the bullies any favors either.  Carrying a My Little Pony backpack is not a crime.  However, harassment is a crime.  By creating an environment that punishes the victim to cover for criminal behavior is going to teach the bully that there's nothing wrong with harassing other people any time you feel like it.  If you grow up in an environment where it's acceptable to abuse others for your amusement, you're setting the bully up for a difficult life when their behavior continues beyond the protective confines of public school and becomes a matter for law enforcement to deal with.

There's no excuse for this.  None whatsoever.  [source: Judd Legum]

Couch Potato Regrets

Couch Potato
Coleco (1987)

I stared at this thing at Black Diamond for an uncomfortable amount of time while deciding whether or not I should bring it home.  I didn't end up buying it, but if I had noticed the Lanco price tag, it probably would have tipped the scales.

Goooooal!

Bally World Cup Soccer
Bally Manufacturing (1968)

If I had the spare cash or the space in my house, this would have come home from Schuylkill Mall with me.  It's an electro-mechanical arcade game that was manufactured by Bally's in the late 60's.  I've never come across this in an arcade, and it wasn't set up to play at Black Diamond Antiques, but it looks like a lot of fun.

He's So Fluffy!

Cameron And The Uncola

These photos of Cameron Diaz have been shared on a lot of different websites and social media pages recently, but I couldn't find one of them that included the source.  There doesn't even seem to be an agreement on the year, with dates ranging from 1991 to 1995.  Whatever the source is, they're pretty cool photos of one of the most talented actresses in the world standing in front of a row of vintage 7-Up and Pepsi machines while snacking on some Cheetos.

An Unidentified Flying Pickle Bumps Into You

Kids Menu #9: Space Game
Denny's (1980)

The menu that was given to children at Denny's restaurants in the late 70's and early 80's came with an activity printed on the back.  The ninth one in the series included a space-themed board game on the back, which features an dangerous intergalactic pickle.

Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Text Adventure Game

Original Game: Infocom (1984)

30th Anniversary Edition: BBC.CO.UK

30th Anniversary Edition

• Play the game online at BBC.CO.UK
• About the game
• Frequently asked questions
• How to play

Original Release

• Review (Pat the NES Punk)
• Retro Unbox (xiann)
• Playthrough (Day-Glo Buffalo)

A Record Breaking Selfie

This selfie taken by actor Bradley Cooper at the 86th Academy Awards was posted to Ellen DeGeneres' Twitter account.  Within 24 hours, it has set the record for the most retweets in the history of Twitter.

The photo includes (clockwise from left to right): Jared Leto, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong'o, Angelina Jolie, Peter Nyong'o Jr, Bradley Cooper, and Ellen DeGeneres.

Burned Into Our Memory

Pac Man
Namco/Midway (1980)
This is what happens to the screen in a Pac Man arcade machine after many years of service [source: Dewshan on Imgur].

The Art And Culture Of Moosylvania

Moosylvania: A Group Art Show Tribute To Jay Ward
Van Eaton Galleries (2014)
An art exhibition that is inspired by the works of Jay Ward is having its opening reception tonight in Sherman Oaks, California.  One hundred artists, designers and illustrators have each created a single piece that was inspired by the legendary creator of Rocky & Bullwinkle.  All of these will be on display at Van Eaton Galleries.

A Puzzling Snack

Puyo Puyo Tetris Gummies
Lion (2024)
Japan always gets the best stuff (source: @MZKN002).

You've Earned It

This photo came up at work while I was tagging mentions of Nestle Crunch bars across social media.  It's a small tribute to Harold Ramis on the sidewalk outside of the Firehouse, Hook & Ladder Company 8, which was the filming location of the Ghostbusters headquarters.

My Favorite Ghostbuster

Harold Ramis
1944 - 2014

Guarding Vintage Pepsi

I've been going to Ring Of Honor shows at the National Guard Armory in Philadelphia since 2005, and I'm always amazed by the Pepsi machine near the restrooms.  It's a vintage machine from the 80's that is still in operation, and it's in pristine condition.  It looks like it was just installed yesterday.

I wonder if C.M. Punk ever took a selfie with it.

ROH TV Taping

Ring of Honor TV Taping: Episodes 130 - 132
Pennsylvania National Guard Armory - February 22, 2014
Philadelphia, PA
We brought our friends Roberto and Jeanette to this show.  It was their first ROH event, and my first in seven years since the taping of The Wrestler in Dover, NJ.  They taped three weeks worth of programming that will air from March 15th through the 29th.

The card was a mix of familiar faces that I remember from back in the day and newer talent that I learned about tonight.  Of those, I was especially impressed with Michael Elgin and Tommaso Ciampa.  The Briscoes have reinvented themselves since I last saw them at a live show, and they're still one of the best tag teams I've ever seen.

	Episode #130 Results air date: March 15, 2014
	Tag Team Match Hanson and Raymond Rowe defeated Team Benchmark (Bill Delay and Will Ferrera)
	Singles Match Kevin Steen defeated Homicide via disqualification *Eddie Kingston interfered in the match which caused Homicide be disqualified.
	ROH Television Championship Match Tommaso Ciampa defeated Jay Lethal to retain the title
	Episode #131 Results air date: March 22, 2014
	Six Man Tag Team Match The Decade (Roderick Strong, BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs) defeated Adrenaline Rush (ACH and TaDarius Thomas) and Andrew Everett
	Singles Match RD Evans defeated The Romantic Touch via countout *The Romantic Touch is Rhett Titus under a mask.
	Singles Match Cedric Alexander defeated Adam Page
	Tag Team Match The Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe) defeated Adam Cole and Mike Bennett
	Episode #132 Results air date: March 29, 2014
	Four Corners Survival Match Silas Young defeated Caprice Coleman, Matt Taven and Takaaki Watanabe
	ROH Tag Team Championship Match reDRagon (Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish) defeated The Brutal Burgers ("Brutal" Bob Evans and Cheeseburger) to retain the titles
	Singles Match "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles vs. Michael Elgin went to a 30 minute time limit draw *Adam Cole did commentary with Steve Corino during the match.  After it was over, he ran to the ring and used the ROH World Heavyweight Championship as a weapon to knock out both men.  Kevin Steen and Jay Briscoe ran to the ring to run Adam Cole off.

Ice Ice Baby

Welcome to Northeast Pennsylvania, where the icicles start on the roof and end halfway down the living room window.

Big Prediction From The Big Piece

I'd be satisfied if he could learn to stop hitting into the shift.

Is He Talking About His Pickle

Big Mac Valentine

McDonald's (1974)

Try getting the visual out of your head of a giant humanoid cheeseburger policeman eating his own heart.  Happy Valentines Day!

Flappy Bird Watching

Artwork by Yves Bourgelas
Bourgy.net

Building With Burnett

If Cole is healthy before the end of April (as the reports indicate), I think that adding AJ Burnett to the rotation could make the Phillies legitimate playoff contenders.

Snow Day In Yokohama

Cup Noodles Museum

Yokohama, Japan
This Cup Noodle may have chicken, but its mascot isn't too chicken to brave the winter sidewalk with a snow shovel  [source: CopyRanter].

Flying Off Into The Sunset

The Chase #12 cover art
Hiroshi Nagai
A series of twelve spoken word records for a story called The Chase were released in Japan during the early 1980's.  The stories that are told on these records were written by novelist Sidney Sheldon, who is also the man responsible for creating The Patty Duke Show and I Dream Of Jeannie among other television projects.  The albums are narrated by Orson Welles, and they were created as a tool to help Japanese speakers learn the English language.

I haven't had an opportunity to listen to any of these records, but I'm fascinated by the pop art on the cover.  Each of the albums features the work of artist Hiroshi Nagai.  The cover of the 12th and final album in the series is my favorite, but they're all very good.  You can see the rest of them (except for volume #5) on Flickr courtesy of David Faulhaber.

70's Television

Vintage RCA Television
Nathan's Furniture in Hazleton is set up like a series of mini bedrooms and living rooms to show you how their furniture will look in your home.  Some of the items aren't for sale, including this television, which appears to have been at the store since the 70's.

My Favorite Cartoon Termite

The Tough Little Termite
Huckleberry Hound (1959)

Monsters Are Real

Bray Wyatt
Artwork by DaceDestiny
I’ve been a fan of professional wrestling since I was four years old.  I still remember sitting on my father’s lap and watching Brutus Beefcake wrestle Hulk Hogan.  From 2005 through 2007, I attended a ridiculous number of WWE, Ring of Honor, Chikara events as well as other indy promotions whose names I’ve forgotten.  In recent years, I’ve spent much less time watching wrestling.  This wasn’t really due to a lack of interest, but a lack of time and money.  I dedicated a lot of time to my studies, earning a degree in psychology, I’ve moved forward in my career, I’ve gotten married, bought a house and a puppy, and the money that I do have budgeted for entertainment has gone toward vacations with my wife and Phillies games.

One event I make it a point to never miss is the WWE Royal Rumble.  It’s almost always an incredible show.  This year’s event was pretty good (despite fans displeasure with the battle royal itself), but it peaked at the opening match.  Anyone whose been to a show with me will tell you that I’ve been a fan of “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson for many years, and I am extremely happy that he’s gotten as over as he has in the WWE as Daniel Bryan.  It truly couldn’t happen to a nicer or more talented guy.  However, Bryan wasn’t the inspiration behind this long and wordy post.

Bryan’s opponent was Bray Wyatt.  I’ve only heard about this guy from other people, and the impression that I took away was that WWE Creative was going for a gimmick where Duck Dynasty meets Deliverance.  While this is a fairly accurate description on the surface, it doesn’t do this man or his gimmick justice.

From start to finish, the Bray Wyatt character is pure brilliance.  From the intense music to the ominous lights-out entrance that surpasses even The Undertaker in its creepiness to his absolutely flawless verbiage and ring psychology, his work is tremendous.  His style reminds me a bit of Bam Bam Bigelow, and this is meant as a very high complement.  Bigelow was one of the most physically impressive big men in the business, and Bray absolutely is deserving of the same distinction.  I honestly can’t find enough good things to say about his work.

I did a little research on the guy and found that he is the son of Mike Rotunda, better known to many as I.R.S. (and answer to the trivia question of “Who is the only man to have wrestled in Wrestlemania 1 and 10”).  He’s also the grandson of Blackjack Mulligan and the nephew of Barry and Kendall Windham.

Ok, I’m done marking out, but if you’ve ever been a wrestling fan and you’ve gotten away from it over the years, check out the career thus far of Bray Wyatt.  You will not be disappointed.  Also, if you're bored when you're done with that, come check out my Tumblr.  It's mildly amusing!

Video Mania

Toys R' Us Video Mania Flyer
January 1994
Seven dollars off plus a free pair of shades?  How can you go wrong?  Click here for the full size image

French Zombies And Pizza Bagels

Les Revenants
Canal+ (2012)

This is the first French television that I've ever watched, unless you count episodes of The Mysterious Cities Of Gold that had been dubbed in English for Nickelodeon in the 80's.  It's about a small town in which a number of people who died suddenly come back to life at the same time.  However, they're not coming back as zombies or monsters... they're the same people and the same age as they were when they died, and they have no memory of their death.  It's fascinating, and one of the most interesting shows about the undead that I've ever seen.

We made pizza bagels to snack on while watching this show.  They weren't anything fancy... just bagels topped with pepperoni, cheese and chunky pizza sauce, but they were exceptionally good!

The Return Of The Wheeze Kids

Ruben Amaro is seemingly on a mission to bring back as many aging former Phillies as he can.  It started in November when he signed Marlon Byrd to a 2 year, $16 million dollar contract.  Byrd began his career with the Phillies in 2002, but was traded to the Washington Nationals just a month into the 2005 season.

In December, he brought catcher Lou Marson back to Philadelphia to compete for the spot to back up Carlos Ruiz.  Mason was one of the prospects that the Phillies traded away at the 2009 deadline to acquire Cliff Lee, so it's possible that Lee could pitch this season to one of the players who he was traded for.

Today, they signed two time all-star Bobby Abreu to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.  Abreu was taken by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1997 MLB Expansion Draft and was then immediately traded to the Phillies for Kevin Stocker.  He immediately became one of the Phillies best hitters and was our starting right fielder for the next eight and a half seasons until he was practically given away to the Yankees at the 2006 deadline for a few minor league players who didn't look like promising prospects at the time, and who didn't contribute for the Phillies (or anyone else) in a meaningful way.  It was one of the most foolish trades that our front office has made in recent memory.

Abreu's best days are behind him, but he hit an encouraging .322/.416/.461 in 50 games for Leones del Caracas during the Venezuelan Winter League 2013-14 season, so there may be something left in the tank for one more productive season for the team where he became a star.

Jack on Beerleaguer proposed an interesting gambling exercise for the 2014 season: which of the five Phillies who were with the team back in 2004 will be more productive ten years later.  Here are their slash lines:

Jimmy Rollins (154 games) - .289/.348/.455

Chase Utley (94 games) - .266/.308/.468

Ryan Howard (19 games) - .282/.333/.564

Bobby Abreu (159 games) - .301/.428/.544

Marlon Byrd (106 games) - .228/.287/.321

The chances of Abreu coming close to his 2004 productivity in his age 40 season are slim to none, but I suppose stranger things have happened.  The rest of them have a reasonable chance, but if I had to put my money on one of them, it'd be either Utley or Byrd.  Who knows... maybe they'll all put together a magical season and be the second incarnation of the Wheeze Kids who will lead Philadelphia to the World Series.

In The Morning With My Whole Wheat Toast...

I see this commercial every morning, and both the song and the dancing avocado haunt me for the rest of the day.

Exotic Snacking

Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups teaser trailer
Nestle (2014)

The teaser for our upcoming Super Bowl ad is... interesting.  Have a look.