Magic 2.0

Off To Be The Wizard
Scott Meyer (2013)
This is the first book in a trilogy by Scott Meyer called the Magic 2.0 series.  I just discovered it and I'm hooked!  I don't want to spoil the story, but it's a unique take on nerd culture and the existence of magic and wizards.  Think Harry Potter meets Ready Player One with a touch of Monty Python.

I Can Relate To This

Amen, little buddy.
[source: Bill Watterson - Calvin & Hobbes - February 13th, 1992]

I Hope It Has Whipped Cream And Sprinkles

F'real Glazed Donut Milkshake
Sheetz (2016)

Live From The Chandelier Lobby

Henry Rollins: Live From The Chandelier Lobby
FM Kirby Center - Wilkes-Barre, PA
I'm very thankful that I had the opportunity to go to this show.  Henry Rollins has long been someone that I admired for his music, his writing and speaking, his views on the world, and his approach to life in general.  This setup of the show was interesting because it wasn't held on the stage of the theater.  The far left hand doors in the ticket office that led into the lobby were opened, but all of the other doors were closed because a small stage was behind the doors in the lobby.  It was a small and intimate show, and it's a bit surreal that it's taking place two days before the election (a topic he spoke about only briefly).  It was an excellent show, and I hope that I get to see him again.

Star Sailors

Star Sailors
Star Wars / Sailor Moon mashup
Artwork by Flowerveil
From left to right, Sailor Naboo (Princess Amidala), Sailor Alderaan (Princess Leia) and Sailor Jakku (Rey).

Eight O'Clock In The Morning

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Mercury Press - November 1963
This literary magazine has been the print source of some of the most brilliant and interesting works of fiction since they published their first issue in 1949, including The Dark Tower in 1981.  Their November 1963 issue included a short story by Ray Nelson called Eight O'Clock In The Morning.  John Carpenter acquired the film rights to it in the 80's and used it as the inspiration for his script for the 1988 film They Live.  It's a different story from the movie, but you can certainly see the elements that led to the cult classic.  You can read it online from Idoc.pub or listen to a reading of it from Newartthing Art.

Pumpkin Carols

The Peanuts Book of Pumpkin Carols
Hallmark (1971)
I found this Hallmark card/book in my grandparents attic many years ago.  It belonged to my dad when he was a kid.  I've seen several different variations of this on eBay and elsewhere.  I'm not sure when it first came out, but it seems like Hallmark may have released it every October through the late 60's and into the mid 70's.

Market Street Bridge

Opening of the Market Street Bridge
Wilkes-Barre, PA
This photo was taken by Ace Hoffman in September, 1929.  The parade includes a marching band, veterans of the first World War, and Shriners from the Irem Temple.
source: Wilkes-Barre Preservation Society

The Old Pig Farm

This photo was taken 90 years ago at a pig farm in Philadelphia.  This is now the site of Citizen's Bank Park (source: Philadelphia Department of Records via HiddenCityPhila.org).

Team Quik Bunny

Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center - Boston, MA
Representing Nestle Beverage at FNCE 2016.

The Bambino Leaves His Mark

Hughestown vs Larksville
Artillery Park - Wilkes-Barre, PA (October 12, 1926)
Ninety years ago today, Babe Ruth made a guest appearance at an exhibition game at Artillery Park baseball field.  At the time, it was the home field for the Wilkes-Barre Barons of the New York-Penn League.  Since 1940, it has been leased by my alma mater Wilkes University and is presently the home field of the Wilkes Colonels.

The six inning exhibition took place less than 48 hours after the end of the 1926 World Series.  Stars of the era frequently spent time during the off season barnstorming around the country and playing in local games.  On this afternoon, The Babe played for Hughestown and went 0 - 2, but a shot that came off of his bat after the game is still remembered to this day.

Following the game, Ruth challenged Pittston native Ernie Corkran to throw his fastest pitch to him.  He smacked the ball from Artillery Park to the running track at Kirby park.  The ball landed an estimated 650 feet from where it was hit.  It is considered by baseball historians to be the longest home run ever hit.

The Moss Covered Stones

Jem
USA Network (1985 - 1988)

This cartoon premiered on the USA Network in 1985 and continued airing new episodes through May 1988.  I didn't watch it when I was a kid, but I'd sometimes catch a few minutes here and there.  It looked fun and I probably would have enjoyed it, but the idea of a boy being allowed to enjoy anything that was meant for girls was a concept that got beaten or shamed out of you pretty quickly in those days.

I did catch a few episodes many years later when the internet made things more easily accessible.  It's not my favorite cartoon from the era, but it's pretty good and it has quite a bit of humor that was probably more geared towards the parents who are in the room while their kids were watching.  This screencap comes from an episode called "In Search Of The Stolen Album" which aired for the first time 30 years ago today.  My favorite of these band names is The Moss Covered Stones, but Tom Potty and the Headbreakers is a classic too.

The Year Of The Discontinued Beverage

I never thought I'd get to enjoy Ecto Cooler again.  It was my absolute favorite when I was a kid.  It's only back for a limited time, so I've gotten as much of it as I can.  The Crystal Pepsi is just icing on the cake.

Mac N' Cheetos

Mac N' Cheetos
Sheetz (2016)
These were at Burger King earlier this year, and now they're selling them at Sheetz.

Round One - Fight!

The boss brought a photo booth company in to take pictures as part of our celebration for merging several teams into one.  Angel and I broke into an impromptu Mortal Kombat pre-match screen.

Let's Start With Land Of The Dead

Analog Synth Metroid

Metroid music remake
by Luminist
All sounds were generated with a Korg MS20 Mini, then processed with studio effects to make things more atmospheric.  It's available for purchase on iTunes, and you can listen to it on YouTube below:

Nintendo At The Arcade

This photo, which appears to have been taken at an arcade on the Wildwood boardwalk, was shared on Flickr by Tom Edler.  It shows three arcade games that were developed by the Nintendo R&D 1 team: Donkey Kong (1981), Donkey Kong Junior (1982) and Popeye (1982).  There is a metal ashtray bolted to the front of each of these cabinets.

I'll Stick With Oreos

source: reddit/r/funny

Cheetos Chicken Fries

Cheetos Chicken Fries
Burger King (2016)
I don't think I'll ever enjoy anything more than the Burger King chicken tenders that they used to have in the late 80's, but these are pretty darn good!

The Philadelphia Dragon

I've been a fan of Daniel Bryan since he wrestled as "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson in Ring Of Honor.  Not only is he one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, but he's also a hell of a nice dude.  I was lucky enough to meet him a few years back before an ROH event.

Earlier today, he spent some time with the Phillies and threw out the first pitch in their game against the Pirates.  After a 5 run second inning and six solid innings pitched by Jeremy Hellickson, the Phillies won the game 6 - 2.

Ed's Funcade

When I was growing up in the 80's, my family and I spent three days every year on the boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ.  It was the highlight of my summer.  One of the reasons was the arcades, and the king of them all was Ed's Funcade.

Ed's Funcade is still in operation, and they host a World Championship Skee-Ball Tournament every year on Labor Day.  Hope to participate in it one of these years.

I took this photo in August, 1986 with my Go Bots Camera on 110 film.

Going Green In The 70's

Lobby of Atari Headquarters
Sunnyvale, CA (1976)
I love the lime aesthetic.  It looks like Sprite sponsored their front desk.

Bridgeport Is Just Too Sweeeeet

Anthony Giansanti, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman

Bridgeport Bluefish OF Anthony Giansanti

nWo Night - September 2, 2016
Bridgeport Bluefish vs Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
The Ballpark at Harbor Yard - Bridgeport, CT
The Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League have had an interesting history of guest managers, including Pete Rose, Paul O'Neill and Roger Clemens.  In last night's game, the team wore nWo jerseys was managed by the New World Order: The Outsiders (Scott Hall and Kevin Nash) and Syxx.  The Bluefish won the game 8 - 6, which gives the Wolfpac an undefeated managerial record in the Atlantic League (photos by Frozen Moments Photography of Norwalk, CT).

Acme Computers

Acme Grocery Bag (1991)
This bag advertised a promotion that Acme hosted for their 100th anniversary, which was 25 years ago.  Shoppers could save store receipts and barcodes from select products, and in exchange, Acme would donate computers to their local school district.

It looks like the kids on the bag are playing Frogger.

The Challenge Will Always Be There

Sega Master System
Thirty years ago, Sega's answer to the NES was released in North America.  My first time playing the Master System was the summer of 1988 when I was visiting cousins in Hawaii.  It was love at first sight and it found its way to the top of my wish list the second the controller hit my hands.  My grandparents gave it to me as a Christmas present that same year.

My favorite game for the console is Shanghai.  I have a lot of fond memories of playing the two player version of it with my grandfather on the move timer.  I played a little dirty by dragging the cursor up to the top right corner of the screen after my turn was over to give me more time to find a move without my grandfather being able to move the cursor fast enough to make a move.

Other favorites of mine include Double Dragon, Out Run, Time Soldiers, Alien Syndrome and Astro Warriors.  Later on in the days of dial-up internet, I discovered Phantasy Star on the early SMS emulators.

Though it'll always come in second to the NES for all but the most dedicated of Sega fans, the Master System did have its advantages.  Sega's arcade ports were second to none, and their version of Dragon Warrior was superior to the NES.  Safari Hunt came with the system and was a more robust gun game than Duck Hunt, and although many would disagree with me, I enjoyed Out Run more than Rad Racer.

If you haven't played a lot of the Master System, sample some of their catalog.  It's a distinct experience from the NES and definitely worth playing.

Eleven Herbs & Spices

Earlier this month, Chicago Tribute reporter Jay Jones met Joe Ledington, the nephew of Colonel Sanders.  In the process of the interview, Mr. Ledington took out a family scrapbook that included this hand written chicken recipe that just so happens to be made up of eleven herbs and spices.  Mr. Ledington went on to say that as a kid, he worked for his uncle, blending the herbs and spices with flour and bagging up the mixture to sell to restaurants.

Naturally, representatives for KFC were quick to say that this isn't the real recipe, but several people have followed the instructions and they say that, with a few tweaks, it tastes just like Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Here's the full recipe, as it was tested, from Joe Gray:

Fried chicken with 11 herbs and spices

Prep: 30 minutes
Soak: 20-30 minutes
Cook: 15-18 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 tablespoon dried basil leaves
• 1/3 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
• 1 tablespoon celery salt
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried mustard
• 4 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 3 tablespoons ground white pepper
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 chicken, cut up, the breast pieces cut in half for more even frying
• Expeller-pressed canola oil

Instructions

1. Mix the flour in a bowl with all the herbs and spices; set aside.
2. Mix the buttermilk and egg together in a separate bowl until combined. Soak the chicken in the buttermilk mixture at room temperature, 20-30 minutes.
3. Remove chicken from the buttermilk, allowing excess to drip off. Dip the chicken pieces in the herb-spice-flour mixture to coat all sides, shaking off excess. Allow to sit on a rack over a baking sheet, 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat about 3 inches of the oil in a large Dutch oven (or similar heavy pot with high sides) over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. (Use a deep-frying thermometer to check the temperature.) When temperature is reached, lower the heat to medium to maintain it at 350. Fry 3 or 4 pieces at a time, being careful not to crowd the pot. Fry until medium golden brown, turning once, 15-18 minutes. Transfer chicken pieces to a baking sheet covered with paper towels. Allow the oil to return to temperature before adding more chicken. Repeat with remaining chicken.

• A note on MSG: Although KFC has confirmed that its present-day recipe uses MSG, it wasn't part of the list of herbs and spices from the Colonel's nephew.  If you want to try it, sprinkle a bit of it on the finished chicken pieces before eating.

Bam!

Burgers And More by Emeril
Sands Casino Resort - Bethlehem, PA

We're got to town a little early to see the Rob Thomas and Counting Crows concert tonight, so we stopped for something to eat at Emeril Lagasse's burger joint at the casino.

Emeril always came across to me a pretty chill dude who doesn't talk down to his audience when he's showing them how to prepare one of his recipes, and I've always liked him.  However, I'm not sure how I feel about having a giant stained glass mime with blue and black striped hair staring me down.  Creepy!

Method of Modern Meme

The shredding bin in the hallway of my office has been expressing it's Philly soul.

Take It Easy, A-Rod

Press Republican sports page
Chris Duncan - June 16, 2008
Alex Rodriguez announced his retirement earlier today.  I've never been a fan of his, but I'll always remember this hysterical headline from a June inter-league game between the Yankees and the Astros.  Pitcher Chien-Ming Wang injured his foot running the bases, and Rodriguez hit his 12th home run of the season on the way to a 12 - 0 victory.

The Changing Of The Guard

TV Update
Scranton Sunday Times (August 3, 1986)
Hall Of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs was in his fifth season in baseball when these tv listings were published.  He was making a run at being MLB's first .400 hitter since Ted Williams in 1941.  He finished the season with a .357 average for the 1986 AL Champion Red Sox.

The cover story begins by saying that the future will look back at the 1986 season as the changing of the guard in Major League Baseball, and the author of this article wasn't wrong.  It was the season that saw the young core of the New York Mets come from behind to win the World Series, and the season when Pete Rose recorded his last hit and Bo Jackson hit his first home run.

The Spaceship Lands At Sunrise

United Artists Cinema at Sunrise Plaza

Blossom Hill Road - San Jose, CA  (August 1986)
This photo was contributed to Cinema Treasures by Edward Havens.  If I had to pick one of these movies to go back in time and see on the big screen, it would be Flight Of The Navigator, which premiered thirty years ago today.  Big Trouble In Little China would be a close second though.

Nintendo Playstation

Super Famicom Playstation prototype (1992)
Late last year, it had been announced that a prototype SuperNES CD console had been discovered.  I would have bet that the story was complete nonsense, but it turned out to be true.  It was developed around 1992 by Sony when they were attempting to work with Nintendo to produce a CD addition to their 16 bit console.  Nintendo famously threw their relationship with Sony away in favor of Phillips, but Sony decided to go ahead and develop their Playstation on their own.

Engadget recently shared a video in which they booted up the console.

A True Champion

Scott Hall
The Jerry Springer Show (January 1996)
One of the true highlights in professional wrestling that doesn't get talked about as much as it should was when Scott Hall was a guest on The Jerry Springer Show in the months leading up to Wrestlemania XII.  If that's all you heard about it, you might have an image in your mind that involves chair throwing and an all out brawl on stage to promote a big match at the pay-per-view, but that's not at all what happened.

Mr. Hall was working for the World Wrestling Federation in his Razor Ramon gimmick at the time.  He was the Intercontinental Champion, and he appeared on the daytime talk show to meet two young children who were HIV Positive: Hydeia Broadbent (left) and Tyler Small (right).  Tyler was a big wrestling fan, and the producers asked him who his favorite wrestler was when he was being booked to appear on the show.  He told them his favorite was Razor Ramon, and so Scott Hall appeared on the show in character as a surprise to meet the children.  In a moment that was not planned ahead of time, Mr. Hall made the decision to give his Intercontinental Championship Belt to the children on the show.  He didn't give them a replica... he gave them the actual title that was used on television.  In the years since, Mr. Hall has said in interviews that he was worried after the show that he was going to get in trouble for what he had done, but he was told by management that he did the right thing and that the company would have another belt made.

WWE.com staff writer Anthony Benigno recently caught up with Hydeia and Tyler for an interview twenty years after their appearance on The Jerry Springer Show.  They're both healthy and doing well, and Tyler still has the Intercontinental Championship Belt to this day.  Click here to read the article.

Beach Rest Motel

Beach Rest Motel
Wildwood, NJ - August, 1986
This is the motel that we stayed at when we went on vacation to the seashore.  I'll never forget the smell in the room.  It was a mix of a salty ocean breeze and air conditioning, and it was oddly pleasant.  Once in a while, I'll find myself somewhere that has a similar scent and happy memories come flooding back.

Bela's Proverbs

source: 3Suze - reddit.com/r/funny/

Go Ape

Wet 'n Wild Waterpark
Wildwood, NJ - August, 1986
I never rode on any of the waterslides at the Wet 'n Wild park in Wildwood, but the six year old me must have liked the ape on the sign enough to take a photo of it.  Now, thirty years later, here it is, preserved online from a 110 film camera that had Go Bots stickers on it.

All I can think of when I see this photo is Bobby Hill singing "Get wild, get wet, get cool, go bananaaaaas."

More Beach Rest Motel

Beach Rest Motel
Wildwood, NJ - August, 1986
My grandfather took the photo of the Beach Rest Motel that was posted yesterday.  These photos are from a postcard that we picked up in the lobby on August 29th, 1986.  The first thing my six year old self did when we walked into the room that day was to climb onto the first bed and execute a "Macho Man" Randy Savage elbow drop.  Depending on the sturdiness of the bed, I'd probably do the same thing today.