From the Vault: Fool's Glod!

I've always liked westerns movies. I'm particularly fond of the Eastwood flicks like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Pale Rider, and the strange but fascinating High Plains Drifter.

A side note here: my wife and I have been watching a lot of the old Batman series off VHS tapes recently. The pair of episodes we watched last night actually featured Eli Wallach as Mr. Freeze. Eli, of course, played Tuco (i.e. the Ugly) in The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.

Back to westerns. There was a time when I wanted to be a cowboy when I grew up (I'm not convinced I've outgrown that phase) and the attached drawing is evidence of that. At first, it looks like a pretty straightforward depiction of an epic battle between two cowboys and two Native Americans. However, this battle comes with a couple twists.

• One cowboy has not only a jetpack but a DOUBLE jetpack. In this little scene, the cowboy has emptied his entire six-shooter in what I would call the unkindest shot.
  
• One Native American appears to have a rocket arrow which he's using to actually transport himself.

• The second cowboy controls some sort of auto-firing, multi-projectile launcher. It's firing knives and cannonballs with incredible efficiency.

• It appears that the entire battle revolves around a dispute about the local Glod Mine. All that fighting...more like Fool's Glod, if you ask me.

Baby Dos: Week 26

Size Comparison: a fondue pot. I know fondue pots are still around. For that matter, there are even fondue restaurants like The Melting Pot. Still, fondue pots always remind me of the avocado green pot my family had while I was growing up. Whenever birthdays came around, I'm pretty sure fondue was a pretty frequent celebratory dinner request. No doubt is was terrible for my parents to clean up but I remember that fondue sizzle with oil-splattering fondness. Besides, this was the week our pregnancy book likened the size of the baby to a 2-pound pot roast so the food comparison seemed appropriate.

Things are good. We have an appointment next week. This may be our last monthly appointment. I'm not sure on that. We'll be going down to every other week appointments shortly. We're busily trying to get ready for the new addition. I'm planning to paint Jesse's room this weekend. Once that's done, I'll move onto the baby's room. We're also pondering what to do about the whole stroller situation. Should we get a double stroller? Do we need one? We're also strongly considering a pouch carrier from Wallababy. We've heard very good things about them and the fact that they're made locally is another plus.

How about the other parents out there? How did you handle multiple kids and things like trips to the grocery store?

From the Vault: Tiny Battles

I'm fortunate that my parents saved so many things from my childhood. It's fun to go back and look through some of the photos, drawings, and writings that made up my childhood. More importantly, what do these thing tell me about the kind of kid I was? I still don't know that answer.

Anyway, here's a pretty exciting drawing. Check it out...it has everything you'd expect from a big-budget Hollywood movie. Fiery parachutes. Planes hitting helicopters. Motorcycles fitted with right-angle guns for mid-jump tank attacks. Finally, there's what appears to be the bombing of a Cord convertible. That's a lot of action to pack onto one sheet of typing paper.

I especially like the segment where it states the drawing represents WWII that Brett made. Don't count on it being historically accurate.

Canned Ham: Alarming

Your neighbors lost their alarm-clock

Three words: NOT MY PROBLEM

Breed Schmeed

I've had many pets over the years. I'm a pet person. When it comes to dogs, I tend to favor the mixed breeds. Our Maggie is a mix of...I don't know...brown dogs...and she's terrific. When we're ready to adopt another dog, we'll likely go to a local shelter and take home whatever we like. There's a good chance it'll be a mixed breed. Don't get me wrong, I like purebred dogs as well. To me, the biggest benefit to a purebred dog is the breed standards and the consistency you can expect. If I'm looking at a puppy of a certain breed, I know, based upon breed standards, the kind of adult the dog will likely be. How big? How much exercise will they need? What will their temperament be? For example, I know a Fox Terrier pup is likely to grow into an adult that's small, energetic, and constantly chasing things . And if I'm getting a dog from a reputable breeder, there's a good chance I can actually meet the pup's parents. That situation is even better. Let's face it, owning a dog is a huge responsibility that lasts many, many years. Knowing what to expect is a great idea...much better than getting a dog you're unhappy with later.

Anyway, I'm fascinated by the semi-recent popularity of hybrid/designer dog breeds. Have you noticed? I think it started with the Labradoodle but it's simply gone crazy since. Looking through the pet section of the local newspaper reveals numerous dogs with names made up of existing dog breed combinations. Even more fascinating are the asking prices for these dogs. Seriously, $1200 for something called a Havamalt?! I know they're trendy and hip but, designer or not, they're the same mixed breed dogs that have been in shelters for decades. You might you have a better idea of what the dog will grow into but I don't think there's any guarantee. Will my Poodle-Afghan Hound mix get the Poodle intelligence or the Afghan's supposed lack thereof?

Sidenote: there are still a number of mixed-breed dogs in the paper with reasonable prices (high enough to discourage those with less-than-honorable intentions but low enough to be sane) and I'm perfectly fine with those dogs and their owners. I hope these dogs don't go unwanted and unadopted because of the popular designer pups.

I'd be interested to know how the designer dog trend got started. Who first decided designer dogs were such a gold mine? I'm guessing one guy had a Lab, his neighbor had a Poodle, and, somewhere in there, the dogs got a little frisky. Just before they were about to give the pups away for free, there was a conversation between a poodle owner (PO) and an allergic friend (AF) that went something like this:

AF: Hey, do you hear that?
PO: What? The dogs barking?
AF: No, my sneezing, wheezing, scratching, and sniffly nose.
PO: But you're not sneezing, wheezing, scratching, or sniffling.
AF: Exactly!
PO: These dogs must be hyperallergenic! I'll be rich!
AF: I think you mean hypoallergenic.
PO: Whatever. I'll be rich!

On the positive side of the trend, making up dog breeds can be fun:

Spitz-Chow

Hava-Great Dane

Skye-Mal

Whippet-Whippet-Pood

Retrospective: October 1988

I have a small box of old papers that I've been sorting through. It's mostly report cards, drawings, and occasional projects from school. I'll post more about some of this later but, for now, I want to look on an interesting newspaper clipping I found stashed in amongst the teacher reviews and little league photos. The clipping is from the 10/12/1988 issue of USA Today and focuses on academic advice for students looking forward to college. It's interesting but nothing that I'm overly excited about right now. Really, I'm surprised that in the midst of mowing yards to earn money, running cross country, and just being awkward around girls, I had time to look forward to college back then (I would've been thirteen and in seventh grade at the time).

Anyway, I was about to toss out the article when I struck gold! On the back of the education article was printing the TV Ratings for the week of 10/3/1988 through 10/9/1988! I don't have the bottom section of the ratings but it's still a pretty sweet score.

So, let's look back at the top 10 shows for week:

1. The Cosby Show
2. A Different World
3. Golden Girls
4. Empty Nest
5. Dear John
6. Jesse
7. ALF
8. NFL Football/60 Minutes/Hogan Family/Tonight Show Anniversary (tie)
   

Now, the bottom 5:

1. The Cavanaughs/Bugs Bunny Special (tie)
   
2. Perfect Strangers/Wiseguy (tie)
3. Simon & Simon
4. Live! Dick Clark Presents
   

I'm shocked that Simon & Simon rated so poorly. Then again, they were on Saturday night, opposite that ratings juggernaut, Golden Girls with their Amen lead-in and Empty Nest trailer. Perfect Strangers rated surprisingly low, too. Poor Balki. I do like the fact the Perfect Strangers and Wiseguy tied. Not only did the have similar ratings but they'd make a terrific bit of crossover fan fiction.

It really is a time capsule in print. There's ALF. Mr. Belvedere. 227. Vice Presidential Debates. It's all there. But not a single reality show. And, apparently, the FOX network isn't even on the radar. How times have changed.