I Am A Colonel

Wilkes University
Wilkes-Barre, PA

Today is the first day of the Fall semester and my first day at Wilkes University.  My original plan was to transfer from Luzerne to Bloomsburg University after my sophomore year.  I got accepted, but Wilkes is a better fit for me for a few reasons.  I've also changed my major from Secondary Education / English to Psychology with a minor in Sociology.  The plan is still to pursue a teaching opportunity in Japan after graduation, but my long-term goals have shifted away from public school and toward counseling at-risk youth and maybe teaching at a community college.

Two years down, two years to go.  Let's do this!

On The Road Again

Angie took a picture of me on the way to the drive-in on Friday, and I actually don't look half bad for a change.

A Bloody Double Feature

Halloween II and Inglorious Basterds
Garden Drive-In - Hunlock Creek, PA

On the last Friday night before the start of the Fall semester, we decided to take in a double feature of Rob Zombie's Halloween II and Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds at the Garden Drive-In.

The Garden Drive-In is a two screen outdoor theater.  The features that we were seeing were on the larger main screen at the back of the lot.  The second screen was showing a family friendly double feature that started off with Aliens In The Attic.  The advertisements for it sort of reminded me of a movie that came out when I was a kid called Spaced Invaders.  The second half of that double feature is a movie called Shorts.  I haven't heard of it, but it was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino's partner-in-crime, Robert Rodriguez.

Our first movie of the night was Rob Zombie's sequel to his remake of Halloween.  I'm not usually a big fan of remakes, but I liked Zombie's take on the Michael Myers story in the movie that came out two years ago, so I was looking forward to the direction he was going to take the story for Halloween II.

Unfortunately, Halloween II is a massive step down from his first remake.  Quite frankly, I think it's one of the worst horror movies I've ever seen.  It feels like it's trying to be an artsy fartsy with a bunch of scenes of a woman with a horse that were just plain ridiculous.  Whatever Rob Zombie was trying to achieve with this movie, it didn't work... at all.

 

The second half of the double feature made this a night to remember.  For as much as I disliked the first movie of the night, I absolutely loved Inglourious Basterds.  The sixth film from writer/director Quentin Tarantino is a war movie that takes place during World War II in Nazi-occupied France.  It's the story of a platoon of Jewish-American soldiers, led by Brad Pitt, who are on a mission to kill Nazi soldiers in the most brutal way possible.  It's difficult to say too much without spoiling major plot points, but it is an incredible movie unlike anything you've ever seen before.

We're Caught In A Trap

WARM 590 Top 40
Scranton PA - November 9, 1969
Elvis Presley's last single to hit the Billboard Hot 100 before his death was released forty years ago today.  Suspicious Minds is my favorite Elvis song, and one of my favorite songs of the 1960's.

Can Your Heart Stand The Shocking Facts...

RiffTrax Live: Plan 9 From Outer Space
Cinemark - Moosic, PA
This was a hell of a lot of fun.   How can you go wrong with Mike, Crow and Tom Servo from the MST3K crew riffing on an iconic Ed Wood cheesefest?  As an bonus surprise, Jonathan Coulton performed his ode to undead office politics, Re: Your Brains.

Best Pancakes On The Planet

The Abbey Gourmet Coffee House
Winters Avenue - West Hazleton, PA
The banana walnut pancakes at The Abbey are EPIC.  This easily makes my top ten list of favorite things to eat.

Exciting Socks

Hometown Farmers Market
Tamaqua, PA
Surely they can't be 1st quality and best price?  Wow!

The Captain Turns 60

Sports Illustrated
February 23, 1976
Happy 60th birthday to the one and only Bobby Clarke.

Do You Want To Make $1.50 The Hard Way?

Barack Obama's Balls

Now In Donkey Kong Yellow

Tommy Hilfiger ad
Nintendo Game Boy Color (1999)
Ten years ago, Nintendo had a deal with Tommy Hilfiger where you could get a special yellow Game Boy Color with the Tommy Hilfiger logo in the center.  Like the ad says, it cost $57.50 with any $50 purchase of clothes.

I never had one of these, but I had some of the clothes when I was a teenager in the 90's.  My grandparents always thought it was called Tommy Heffelfinger for some reason.

Reading's Greatest Pitcher

Pedro Martinez
Reading Phillies (2009)
Ruben Amaro Jr. was in attendance at FirstEnergy Stadium last night to watch Pedro Martinez pitch for the Reading Phillies against the Trenton Thunder.  Pedro struck out 11 in his rehab appearance, and the Phillies Double A affiliate won 8-4.  The three time Cy Young Award winner should be in Philadelphia very soon.