Shit With The Angels

Considering how the Angels have performed in the AL West, this might be the most appropriate typo of all time, and the photo makes it that much better.  Congratulations, Mr. Washington.  Don't forget to wash your hands before you work with the Trout.

Happy National Scrapple Day

Philadelphia Style Scrapple
Oscar Mayer (1950's)
Today is National Scrapple Day, so if you forgot to buy a card for your loved ones, you still have time to pick one up on the way home from work.  If you're feeling especially generous, you can give the gift of one pound of the breakfast pork that has been sitting in a sealed can for the past 70 years.

I'm not selling this product and I'm not sure who is, but it was too bizarre not to share.  It's probably a bad idea to spend two hundred dollars on this, but if you do, I strongly advise that you don't try to eat it.

Takkii Ramen

Fried Chicken Ramen
Takkii Ramen - Slatington, PA

When we were last at The Slatington Marketplace over the summer, I had a Ginger Chicken Poke Bowl from Oahu Poke.  I was sad to see that the spot that Oahu Poke was in is now vacant, but it gave me the opportunity to try something else from the food court.

One of the best meals I've ever had at a restaurant was at place in Battery Park called Lili's Noodle Shop & Grill.  It was the first time that I ever had ramen that didn't come from a packet at the grocery store.  It was topped with roast duck and served in a big steaming hot bowl, and it was absolutely delicious!  The Fried Chicken Ramen that I had on Saturday wasn't quite up to that level, but it was pretty close, which is impressive when you consider that it's from a small shop in the food court of an antiques mall.

Takkii Ramen has restaurants in Allentown, Reading, and Kutztown in Pennsylvania, and one location in Syosset, New York.  They've also got a spot inside the Trolly Barn Public Market in Quakertown, which we haven't been to yet, but it looks interesting.  The full menu looks pretty great, so I'm going to have to check out one of their traditional restaurants in the near future.

Can You Find The Wolves In This Picture?

Killers Of The Flower Moon
Paramount Pictures (2023)

When he was asked about the 3 hour and 26 minute runtime of this film, director Martin Scorsese said "You can sit in front of the TV and watch something for five hours. Also, there are many people who watch theatre for three and a half hours. There are real actors on stage, you can't get up and walk around. You give it that respect.  Give cinema some respect."  Well said, sir.

I went into this movie completely cold.  I didn't see the trailer or read any plot synopsis, and I had no idea what it was even about.  I only knew that it was nearly three and a half hours long, it starred Leonardo DiCaprio, and it was directed by Martin Scorsese.

What unfolded on the screen was a more powerful story than anything that I could have binge watched on the sofa.  I didn't know that it was based on a true story when I bought my ticket, but I suspected that it was after just a few minutes.  When I read more about the Osage Indian murders after I got home, it hit like a ton of bricks.  The evil actions in this film are far worse than anything you'll see in a horror flick because these things actually happened.

Don't let the runtime scare you off.  There are no dull moments.  This had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish and felt a lot faster than a lot of 90 minute movies that I've seen.  It's a masterpiece.

Ben Franklin Is The Devil

The Waterboy
Touchstone Pictures (1998)

The first movie for which Adam Sandler has acting, screenwriting, and producing credits has turned 25 years old today.  In addition to Sandler, The Waterboy includes fun performances from Kathy Bates, Henry Winkler, and Fairuza Balk.  In a decade filled with silly comedies, it stands out as one that makes me laugh every time that I see it.

Philadelphia Daily News  (November 6, 1998)

Intelligencer Journal - Lancaster, PA  (November 9, 1998)

Predictably the critics slammed it, which makes me wonder why some film critics bother reviewing movies like this in the first place.  If your only interest when it comes to watching movies is seeing something with artistic merit or thought-provoking social commentary, it seems pointless to review a silly comedy like The Waterboy.  I suspect that many of the negative reviews were written before the reviewer watched the movie, with a few blank spots to fill in the details after the fact.  It's as silly as a top food critic reviewing the Beef N' Cheddar Sandwich at Arby's.

Thankfully, audiences in the late 90's didn't have a stick crammed up their ass.  Upon its release, The Waterboy set a ticket sales record for a film released in November or December, and it went on to gross over $190 million dollars at the box office.  Not too shabby for a film that cost $20 million to make.

Back To Slatington

The Slatington Marketplace
Route 873 - Slatington, PA

We discovered The Slatington Marketplace in July of this year and absolutely fell in love with the place.  The only negative is that we picked a hot summer day to visit and there's no air conditioning, so it was extremely hot.  We decided that we were going to come back another day when the weather cooled down a bit, and yesterday afternoon became that day.

The place is so big that we only made it about halfway through in about four hours, but we're going to head back at some point later this month or next month to check out the rest.  Here are some of the things that we saw:

This is a very small sampling of the neat things that they've got here.  We bought a few things, but none of the things in these pictures.  I'll post those things later on, and I'm sure that there will be a lot more pictures next time next time we visit this place.

Tune In To Channel 54

They Live
Universal Pictures (1988)
One of my favorite movies of all time premiered in theaters 35 years ago today.  Here are some clippings from the month that it was released.

Philadelphia Inquirer (November 13, 1988)

Philadelphia Inquirer (November 4, 1988)
click to enlarge

San Francisco Examiner (November 5, 1985)
click to enlarge

San Francisco Examiner (November 5, 1985)
click to enlarge

Pumpkin Season

Jucker Farm
Seegräben, Switzerland

Spoon's Up, Bowl's Down

Snoop Cereal: Fruity Hoopz With Marshmallows and Cinnamon Toasteez
Broadus Foods (2023)
Man, if you told the 13 year old me that the dude who recorded Gin and Juice would have his own line of kids breakfast cereals thirty years later, I would have said that you must be as high as Snoop was in that music video... but the world is a funny place... and I'll be damned, Fruity Hoopz makes a very tasty breakfast.  I haven't opened the Cinnamon Toasteez yet, but I'm sure they'll be just as great.

Happy Halloween, Travis Jankowski

Travis Jankowski
Texas Rangers (2023)

If there is one small bright side in the 2023 World Series for me, it's the fact that one of our own has stepped up in a big way to help close the door on the Diamondbacks chances at a championship.

The Rangers were dealt a tough blow when their slugger and ALCS MVP Adolis Garcia suffered an oblique injury that put an end to his historic 2023 post-season run.  He was replaced in right field by Lancaster's own Travis Jankowski.  The 32 year old outfielder is not a household name, but I'm very familiar with him as a member of the 2021 Philadelphia Phillies.  I was in attendance for a game in July 2021 in which Jankowski went 3-3 with four RBI against Sandy Alcantara and the Miami Marlins.  He doesn't hit for a ton of power, but the dude is versatile in the field and seems to come through in the clutch... or at least he did for the Phillies. 

Jankowski came through in the clutch again last night, going 2-4 with 2 RBI in the Rangers 11-7 victory in Game Four of the 2023 World Series on Halloween night.

With last night's win, the Texas Rangers took a 3-1 lead on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series.  Tonight at Chase Field, the Rangers have the opportunity to win their first World Championship in franchise history.

Go get that ring, Travis!