Alfred Hitchhike

Good evening. Tonight's picture is a pun of sorts, regarding an iconic movie director obsessed with the macabre. It was inspired by a movie about the director, which is most appropriately named, "Hitchcock". I have yet to see the movie, but I believe it will be quite delightful. Now without further ado, I present to you..."Alfred Hitchhike".

Christmas With Freaky the Snowman

OK, I know I've been away for a while, which is due to a dearth of content and various things (like getting a job) keeping me busy. However, I will still keep blogging away, though my posts may be a bit more irregular than in the past.

Anyway, this Christmas Eve I thought I'd do a tribute to good ol' Freaky the Snowman of YouTube fame. For those who don't know, Freaky is a guy in a snowman suit who hangs out on the streets, scaring people as they walk by. Here's a clip of Freaky in action (and in trouble), followed by my own "Freaky the Snowman" song:

Freaky the Snowman,

Was a real sadistic soul,

With a black neck scarf,

And a carrot nose,

And two eyes made of peepholes,

Freaky the Snowman,

Was a fairy tale they say,

He was made of foam,

But the people know,

How he spooked them every day.

There must have been a person

In that spooky snowman suit,

For when folks came too close,

He'd turn and they would scoot!

Freaky the Snowman,

Was a creepy looking guy,

And the people say,

They would run away,

When he'd scare those passing by.

Freaky the Snowman,

Knew they streets were full that day,

So he said, "Right here,

We will do our scares,

And make them run away!"

Down in the city,

With a camera out of sight,

He sit here and there all around the square,

Giving folks a real good fright.

He'd do this every day,

Until the cops came 'round,

And then they said to him,

"You had better get out of town!"

Then Freaky the Snowman,

Had to hurry from the streets.

But he said,

"Hey there,

You had best beware,

I will be there in your sleep!"

Screamity-scream-scream-scream,

Look at Freaky go!

Screamity-scream-scream-scream,

The scary snowman of fake snow!

Seeing the B-24 in Person

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm posting this from my parent's place, where we had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with immediate family, and my sole surviving grandparent. When I was going through my parents' old computer rounding up old pictures I took, I found these of B-24 bombers that were part of a show at the airport in Yakima, WA, that me and my family went to see. It was neat to go through the same type of plane that my Grandpa Burt flew in. It's a good thing he wasn't claustrophobic, despite the huge size, it's cramped in there!

No, not the twinkie, anything but the twinkie!

I really really hope somebody will buy out the Hostess snacks, because while I don't eat them that often, I do enjoy a good twinkie, ding-dong, cupcake, etc. now and again. I guess I never truly appreciated Hostess until they announced they were shutting down. Below is a look-back on twinkies from CNN  followed by the full "twinkie" clip from Ghostbusters.



One thing they forgot to mention on the CNN clip; "Twinkie" was Moe's nickname for Calvin in the "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip.

The B-24

I'm watching a documentary on the B-24, the plane that Grandpa flew in during WWII. Even though it's a less famous plane than the B-29 or B-17, the B-24 was produced in larger numbers than either of the other two bomber craft.

Another Funeral

Hello again, readers. The reason I missed last week's post is because I was pallbearer for yet another grandparent. My grandfather, Richard W. Burt, has now joined my grandmother, Evelyn Deem Burt, in Heaven.

My Grandpa Burt was a WWII veteran. He was a radio operator for a B-24 aircraft, which at one point was shot down over enemy territory, and he was taken as a prisoner of war. A few years ago I had the privilege of accompanying my family to visit the sites of his P.O.W. camps.



Not much is left of them now, just a few bricks, and a water trench in one. I can't imagine what Grandpa went through in that time, especially during the last march, where all they could hope for was that the Allies would catch up to them, and that their guards would keep them alive until then.

Grandpa only recently started talking about and recording his war stories, when my mother was growing up it was understood that his time in the war just was never discussed.

But my grandfather's life wasn't all hardship. Long before the famous MIT hack placing a police cruise on top of the Great Dome, when Grandpa Burt was a kid he and his took apart a wooden buggy, nuck it into their schoolhouse through the coal chute piece by piece, then reassembled it in the schoolroom! He was always good with his hands, and I remember him doing a lot of woodcrafts when I was growing up. One of my favorites was a paddle with wooden chickens ringed around one side, with strings attached to each one and joined to a wooden peg on the other side. When you held the paddle with the chicken-side up, and moved it back and forth, the swinging peg on the bottom would pull on the strings, which would make the chickens "peck".

I'm proud to be decended to one of the Greatest Generation. Grandpa Burt went through a lot for his country, and he was good husband, father, and grandfather. I was honored to be a part of his well-deserved veteran's funeral.

Shrunken Heads Game Background

Here's the background from the Shrunken Heads game by KewlBox, stretched out to accomodate a 1920x1200 screen.

Also for your spooky enjoyment, scroll down for a screenshot from the Reboot TV show.

BOO!

More Clowning Around

Here I took cutouts of the clown masks from The Dark Knight and ran them through various filters in Photoshop. If you're afraid of clowns, you might want to click out of here. If you're not afraid of clowns, let's see if we can fix that, shall we?

 

A Collage of Clowns

Well, it seems that entrecard is no more. I'm sorry to see it go, for not only was it my best traffic source, it also gave me the opportunity to be part of a community of many diverse and excellent blogs. But you won't be getting rid of me that easily! Where I have a lame piece of art I want to share, I'll be there. Where there's a YouTube video I think deserves worldwide acclaim, I'll be there. When my novel and other works are finally ready for the world, I'll be there.

Anyway, since the season of Halloween is upon us, I decided to kick it off with a collage of images from Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City; featuring the Clown Prince of Crime himself, and his many merry minions.

"I am Batman!"

 

 

I've been on a bit of a Batman binge, what with playing the Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City games, as well as watching DVDs of the 90's animated series, and recently seeing The Dark Knight Rises at the theatre. So here's my parody of Batman's most iconic line:

 

I am greatness,

 

I am the width,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I...

 

am...

 

FAT man!

 

I am laziness...

 

I am the hairball...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I...

 

am...

 

CAT man!

 

I am not THIS man,

I am not the OTHER man,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I...

am...

THAT man!

 

Say, anybody notice how Superman never has to identify himself?

 

Also, if someone could get entrecard up and running again, they'd be MY hero!

Addendum

Am I the only one experiencing trouble with entrecard? The site was being really slow last week, and this week it's not loading at all.

In Memory of Loving Grandparents

I recently returned from a funeral for my grandmother on my mother's side. It was quite the family reunion, with various relatives from my mother's side of the family, some of which I haven't seen in quite some time, as well as my brother coming all the way from South Korea.

Monday we had the viewing, and Tuesday was the service. I was one of the pallbearers, the second time I've been one. The first was for my grandfather on my father's side. They are each survived by their respective spouses.

This funeral felt a bit more bittersweet than the last, as I'm down yet another grandparent, with only one-half on each side left. On the other hand, I was able to stay with family a bit longer for this one, which was great, given how little we see each other lately.

It's also been driven home a little more forcefully how life catches up to us. I grew up knowing all my grandparents pretty well. I have a few memories of my great grandparents when I was very little. Now my own parents are grandparents, and their parents have had great-grandkids for a while now. The cycle continues, and life goes on, until it ends. I believe in the hereafter, and that I'll see my grandparents again, but it is human nature to fear death, and to miss those that have passed on.

I am at least grateful that it was my grandmother and grandfather's time to go. Their physical and mental conditions had been getting worse and worse, so death came as a release for them. I also take comfort in the fact that they lived full and virtuous lives, part of which they shared with me. I recall reading somewhere, "If you died tomorrow, how many people would be at your funeral?" I can say that my mother's mother and father's father had lots of people at their funerals; they had forged and maintained relationships that mattered, and were a joy to those that knew them. I hope to follow in their example, and be the kind of person worthy to inherit their legacies.

Cheezburger LOL

I decided to have a little fun with one of my pics from the horse trip. To vote it up or "like" it go here.

The Ride

Finally, here's my chronicle of the horseback riding trip, which turned out be even more grueling than the hike with my sister.

I had a lot of firsts on this trip. I had my first time getting stepped on by a horse, my first time jumping a horse, my first time getting thrown from the saddle, and my first time almost falling down a mountain on a horse. We rode through the High Uintas Wilderness, which consisted of large valleys surrounded by big mountains. Most everyday we would ride through a mountain pass, which involved going up and down steep rocky slopes, and we would camp in the valleys. There were some really awesome views, and each place was different. Some mountain trails were large, solid rock steps, others were mostly gravel. The valleys ranged from thick forests to large plains, and often a mix of the two.

When we went down our first pass of the trip, Dad, his friend Kelli, and Kelli's daughter Zoe all got off their horses to lead them down. I rode mine all the way down the mountain. It was rather hair-raising, having Zip (the horse Kelli brought for me) ease his way down, stumbling seemingly every other step, with a very steep drop just over the edge. During another pass, though, we all got off to lead our horses down, me included, since the path was so gravelly, I felt a bit more anxious about having Zip fall and take me with him. So I led Zip down the mountainside, but being the novice equestrian handler that I am, didn’t stay in front at all times like I should have, and that’s when I had my right foot stepped on. The pain went away only a couple of days ago. At least I didn’t get a mark, unlike when Dad’s foot was stepped on!

To avoid another foot-crushing, I decided to ride down the next mountain pass, even as everyone else dismounted. I think I would have made it without incident, if I hadn’t been leading the way down. When we came to a switchback, and the horses behind us were in view, Zip took it into his head to try and join them, by trying to cut the switchback and climb up the steep, gravelly slope. I tried to get him under control, but for a minute the best I could do was to keep him going in circles on the very narrow trail, hoping he wouldn’t slip. Fortunately he didn’t, and I was able to steer him back in the right direction eventually (with my heart pounding).

In the valleys, the trails often weren’t much better than in the mountains. There were plenty of hills to go up and down, and occasionally the only way we could even see the trail was by watching for the rock cairns stacked at regular intervals. There were often huge rocks right on the path, as well as trees fallen over it. We often had to take detours around said trees. During one such detour, Zip stopped at a huge section of brush. I thought he could’ve just pushed right through it, but he just stood there. I leaned over to see if he was caught on something, and he picked that moment to jump over the obstacle. I came clear up out of my stirrups and over the saddle, landing on Zip’s neck. Fortunately I was able to get right back in the saddle and continue. We had to do a few more jumps since then, but I never got thrown again!

Didn’t see a ton of wildlife, but we did see a moose, which made the horses a bit edgy, even though it was moving away from us. We also came across a flock of sheep, which really made the horses flighty. I had to struggle to keep Zip under control until we got all the way past them. We also saw some animal bones in a couple of places. Going down one mountain slope we saw a horse's skull. If I remember right) the  place was called on the map “Dead Horse Pass”.

For breakfasts we had things like nine-grain cereal, toast, and even pancakes, for lunch we had fruit rolls, cheese sticks, sausage sticks, and peanut butter and jam tacos. For dinner we had things like soup, and rice tacos. Thursday night both Dad and I got really sick after dinner. We were throwing up pretty bad; I’m thinking it was something we ate, except that Kelli and Zoe weren’t sick, and they ate same things we did.

I had tried to prepare for the trip by exercising on the treadmill for half an hour each day, but apparently even that wasn’t enough; my knees would be sore at the end of each day, and I generally felt pretty exhausted (even Zoe seemed to keep up better than me). With some practice, though, I was able to get into the routine of setting up and breaking camp, and getting the saddle and saddlebags loaded and unloaded.

Overall, I’m glad I went. There were a couple of moments where I wasn’t sure I would live through the experience, but I did, and I feel like it was worth it to be able to do and see the things that I did.

Back from the saddle again

So I'm back from my weeklong torture of my posterior! I've "saddled" myself with a ton of pics which I still need to organize (and I forgot my camera when coming down to Starbucks today). It was awesome though, and I hope to have the journey chronicled next week.

In the meantime, I just added a really sweet love song from Luigi onto my YouTube games playlist, here it is with my other favorite Mario parodies.

Going Horseback Riding...Hopefully

I was going to do a more elaborate post, but Blogger is being annoying, so I just thought I'd let you all know I will likely not be posting next week, as I should be on my way to meet with my Dad for a horseback riding trip, depending on what our plans are. But don't worry, I'll bring back pictures!

Operation Pang

I've been waiting for this pic to pop up on the Pang levels for ages, but I finally "got to the choppa"!

"All day...staring at the ceiling makin...friends with shadows on my wall,"

This is from a bedroom ceiling in my parent's place.



"To the death!" "NO! To the Pang."

Another Monday post. My excuse THIS time is that I had a wedding to attend and spent the days with extended family. Anyway, this Pang pic should make up for the agonizing wait you all surely must have endured.

Mud Nest

Sorry for the late post, got caught in the bookstore browsing trap last Saturday.

I found this mud-dauber wasp nest last week, and I was able to watch the mother wasp working on it.

When I first saw the nest, the bottom tube was open, and as I was studying it, the wasp came up with a glob of mud, and sealed the opening. I didn't have my camera on me at the moment, but I rushed to get it and took a picture of the fresh plug.

Here she's added a bit more mud.

Here's the missus herself starting another chamber. Mud daubers aren't particularly aggressive, and this one was fine with me getting close and photographing her as she worked. According to the insect field guide I have, the mother mud dauber stocks her brood chambers with captured and stung spiders for the wasp larvae to feed on. While wasp adults feed on nectar, wasp larvae are generally carnivorous, and must be fed some sort of meat. Social wasps (such as yellowjackets and hornets), bring pieces of insect or other flesh back to the nest for the larvae. Solitary wasps generally capture whole insects (and spiders, in some cases) to take back to their nest and stash with the eggs. Others are parasites, and lay their eggs directly on the host, which will hatch in a larvae that will consume it from the inside, while it's still alive and functional. Anything for baby...

May the Pang Be With You

Whoever created Pang 96! must have been a Star Wars fan. Not only is there a Y-wing background, there is also an X-wing background (which I hope to produce soon). Additionally, one of the random sounds when you complete a level is Vader saying "Impressive..." and the blaster upgrade makes the "stun" effect (from the noise the stormtrooper's blaster makes in Episode IV when he stuns Princess Leia) when you first pick it up, and when you shoot the blaster, it makes the standard blaster sound from the films.

Mater vs. Buzz

Last week I started my critique of Mater of the Cars movies, and how I find his character a rather poor example of his type, the well-intentioned bumbler. I think a much better example of the lovable goofball would be Buzz Lightyear. In the first Toy Story movie, Woody's angst at being "replaced" as Andy's favorite toy is compounded by the fact that Buzz thinks he's a real-life Space Ranger, and is oblivious to the fact that he comes from a toy factory. Yet just as Woody learns to accept Buzz as a fellow toy whose owner loves him, Buzz himself also changes; he learns the truth about himself, and adjusts his priorities accordingly. In Toy Story, it's not just the straight man who winds up a different person, the bumbler does as well. Another good example of a decent bumbler is Linguini of Ratatouille. Linguini is a klutz who can do very little without Remy the rat helping him out. Though he doesn't get "better", the film does not seek to justify his weaknesses. The worst example I've ever seen of a comic bumbler is Eliot the deer from Open Seasons. Eliot repeatedly gets Boog the bear into trouble through his self-centered actions, and really does nothing to redeem himself until the end of the film, where he is perfectly placed to save Boog from a hunter. I would've liked to see Eliot a bit more reformed and apologetic well before that moment. Likewise, I would've liked to see Mater make more of an effott to do something that did not come easy for him by the time Cars 2 hit it's climax.

As I stated before, it bugs me when characters like Mater have their films seek to justify their weaknesses, rather than showing them overcome their weaknesses. In fact I've come to regard the moral "just be yourself" as a dangerous half-truth that can do more harm than good to those who struggle to fit in. Those of us with learning disabilities and such do not always have the luxury of doing what comes naturally, because what comes naturally to us is all too often counterproductive to our efforts in our work and social lives. I would also argue that everyone has weaknesses which can hold them back in life, and that in order to be, not just ourselves, but our best selves, we have to work on those weaknesses. Those who are poor at math still need to learn enough of it to get by. Those who are poor at reading still need to learn enough of it to get by. Likewise, those who are poor at social skills still need to learn enough to maintain positive relationships, while those who function poorly alone still need to learn to function by themselves at least to a certain degree.

Mater the Tow Truck...victim of "The Jar Jar Treatment"

A couple of weeks ago I watched Cars 2 on DVD. I liked it well enough, but I agree with what a lot of reviewers have said, in that Mater was given too much emphasis. I found Mater's portrayal here an all too good example of the "Jar Jar Binks" treatment, which I think deserves some analysis as how not to treat a comic relief character.

In Cars 2, the story has Lightning McQueen joining a worldwide Grand Prix race event, with Mater coming along. In Japan, Mater gets mistaken for a secret agent by a couple of James Bond-esque cars looking to stop some bad guys from endangering the racers by sabotaging their new "green" fuel. Mater's mix-up in this, combined with his utter naivete' and lack of common sense, results in McQueen losing his first race, and getting upset with Mater. Near the end of movie, McQueen takes back everything he said, urging Mater to just be who he is.

Like the infamous Jar Jar Binks of Star Wars Episode I, Materis character is an attempt to make an inept character likable and sympathetic, with the moral being to appreciate the oddballs in one's life. I would actually say that Mater's story was better than Jar Jar's, since Mater wasn't as completely useless. While Jar Jar's only important contribution to Episode I was showing people where the Gungans where the Gungans were hiding, Mater ends up saving the day, and even figures out who the real villain is in the end. Mater also, (unlike Jar Jar), is at one point brought to the realization that he comes across as a dope to everyone else. However, it was still a stretch to have Mater, the comic relief, have the weight of the world on his shoulders, and expect viewers to take him seriously because of it. A much better depiction of the accidental hero, in my view, would be The Man Who Knew Too Little, in which Bill Murray plays another doofus mixed up international intrigue, but who believes, from start to finish, that he's just acting in a weird urban drama set-up. That film was a goofy farce with no "touching moments" or moral high points at all.

What especially bothered me about Cars 2 was McQueen telling Mater to just keep being who he was, and if others didn't like it, that was their problem. This was the exact opposite of the moral in the first Cars movie, where McQueen actually does change who he is, from an arrogant jerk to a humble, caring person. Why does McQueen's hubris need to be fixed, but Mater's bumbling, clingy, occasionally even rude behavior not need to be fixed? Next week I'm going to elaborate more on this apparent double-standard in films, and explain how I think it hurts, rather than helps, the mentally challenged in real life.

The Quest for the Holy Pang

Notice how the castle's windows are kind of cock-eyed?

There and Back Again

So here, finally, is the story of my little adventure in Great Basin National Park. It wasn't the longest trip I've ever been on, nor the farthest I've ever been from home, but I went places unlike any I've visited before, and pushed myself harder than I ever have before.

Far over...the misty mountains call...

to dungeons deep...

and caverns old



My sister and I got to Great Basin very late Sunday night, and consequently set up our tent in the dark. The next day we took a guided tour through Lehman Caves. The door you see above is the exit, here is the entrance:



Both the entrance and exit are artificially dug tunnels to make it safer for people to get in and out. The natural entrance to the caves is covered by a grate that lets bats through but screens out people.

The cave itself was just...otherworldy. It's one thing to see pictures of stalactites and stalagmites, but to actually be in a place with rock formations like nothing you've seen above ground, in a chamber that appears to have been carved out by an abstract artist, is to experience something, strange, eerie, and beautiful.

The next day we hiked up Mt. Wheeler. The peak is at 13,063 ft above sea level, and our hike, starting at just above 10,000 ft, was 8.2 miles roundtrip with an elevation gain of 2900 ft. It was the most grueling trek I've ever undertaken. Once we got onto the mountain proper, I was gasping like a fish out of water. When you're that high up, the thin air really takes its toll. My sister let us take 5-10 breaks about every 15-20 minutes, which hardly felt like enough to me.

Once we got close to the top, I was so worn out, my sister suggested she go on ahead, without waiting for me, and I could either wait where I was, start back down, or keep going up as far as I could, and start back when I met her coming back down again. I chose the third option, and pushed myself up as far as I could go.

When I met up with my sister again, we were still close enough to the top, that she thought we could chance me going all the way, and still get off the ridge before dark. So, I dragged my poor, besotted frame clear up to the top of Wheeler, where I signed the register there. Even though I was still barely able to stand, and we had to hustle it out of there before nightfall, I felt like a million, worn-out bucks, having made it all the way! And the view was definitely worth it!

Then of course, we had to go back, while the sun was setting, hoping to get down to the woods where the trail would be easier to see (and not covered in snow). Fortunately we made it out alive, and the next day were able to rouse our tired bodies enough to pack up and head home.

So I have been from the lowest depths to the greatest hights, and it was awesome, just awesome.