We'll Miss You, Chewie

Peter Mayhew
May 19, 1944 - April 30, 2019
The world has lost a phenomenal man and an irreplaceable talent as Chewbacca in the Star Wars universe.  Thank you for everything, Mr. Mayhew.  Rest well, sir.

update: This photo was shared by Bonnie Burton.  Mr. Mayhew is seen here with one of the toys made from The Star Wars Craft Book by Ms. Burton.  She also wrote a beautiful tribute to Mr. Mayhew on c|net.

8-Bit Happy Gilmore

There are at least a half dozen different websites selling this on a t-shirt.  I have no idea who actually created it, but kudos to you, whoever you are.  It's not really something I'd want on a shirt, but I'd love to see a Happy Gilmore inspired rom hack.

A Scoop Of Sour

Sour Patch Kids
Nestle Dreyer's Ice Cream (2018)
I know... it looks like it would be terrible, but it's pretty good.  This is a blend of vanilla ice cream and lemon sorbet with a berry swirl and small pieces of Sour Patch Kids sprinkled throughout.  It has a refreshing, summery, mildly tart flavor that doesn't leave a sour taste in your mouth.

His Friends Still Call Him Murphy

Time Of Death: 4/26/2019

It was announced today that Netflix made the decision to cancel the most humorous and creative television series that has ever aired.  This is a damn shame.

It's A Beautiful Day In The Cereal Aisle

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Episode #1529 (1984)
MrBreakfast.com has a profile page on just about every breakfast cereal you can think of.  On their page for Pac-Man Cereal, they have a screenshot of an episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in which he takes a trip down the cereal aisle.

In this screenshot, Mr. Rogers is walking past boxes of Pac-Man Cereal and Donkey Kong Cereal, which has been stocked next to the Quentin Tarantino favorite, Kaboom.  Ironically, Kaboom is also the name of an Atari 2600 game from 1981, but the cereal was themed after a circus clown.

Battle Alien Forces On Your Birthday

Birthday Party Flier
Aladdin's Castle (1987)
Scans of this flier were shared on Facebook by Gains McDonald earlier today.  It's postmarked October 2nd, 1987 which makes it especially cool for me because it's from the same year that I had my 7th birthday party at the Aladdin's Castle in the Laurel Mall.

Here is the other side of the flier which features one of my favorite arcade games ever made - Discs Of Tron.

Tacos and Coffee

Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch.  Thanks T-Mobile!

Won't You Be My Firefly

A new Bray Wyatt vignette aired on Raw tonight.  It was... unusual.

Mama, I'm Hopping Home

I hear that he once got arrested for biting the ears off of a chocolate bunny.  Happy Easter!

The Family Business

Schweitzer's Service Station
Winters Ave - West Hazleton, PA
My great-grandfather and my great-uncles ran this gas station and garage for many years.  It closed in the mid 80's, but I have very fond memories of stopping here with my grandfather to visit my Uncle Georgie when I was a kid.

Aladdin's Castle Custom Cabinet

Aladdin's Castle Arcade Cabinet
Rob Gillim‎, the owner of Gillim's Computer Service in Kentucky, recently shared this photo of his custom-built Mame cabinet themed after the Aladdin's Castle arcade chain.  In addition to the woodgrain panels, the lighted marquee and the attract mode screen, he's also modified the coin mechanism to accept original Aladdin's Castle tokens.

This is exactly what I hope to build one day.

Fezzik's Nuts

Harmon's Neighborhood Grocers
Source: The Secret Nerd Base

Plush In The Park

Stone Temple Pilots: Plush
Soho Square, London (June 4, 1993)
Scott Weiland and Dean DeLeo were interviewed on a park bench in Soho Square.  At the end of the interview, they did an incredible impromptu performance of Plush.  This aired on ITV in a show called The Beat shortly after the song was first released as a single, and it was shared by ScottishTeeVee.

Alien Lasers

Vincent, You Ever Had A Big Kahuna Burger?

Big Kahuna Sandwich
Arby's (2019)
Two pieces of advice for the marketing team handling the Arby's account:

1. Convince the restaurant to make this a seasonal sandwich; Arby's version of the McRib.
2. Pay Samuel L. Jackson whatever he wants to appear in the commercial.

This very large sandwich is made up of crispy chicken, beef brisket and smoked ham.  The meats are served on a King's Hawaiian bun and are topped with Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and pineapple habanero sauce.  Very tasty and filling.

The Return Of Mister Donut (sort of)

Dunkin' Donuts (2019)
The menu monitors at Dunkin' Donuts are doing this thing where they cycle through all of their previous company logos.  I suppose it's done in an effort to try to get us to accept that they're removing "Donuts" from the name of the restaurant and re-branding themselves as "Dunkin".  I'm not sure what they hope to accomplish with that move, but it was nice to see the old Mister Donut logo.

Gators and Beer

Taming Of The Brew
Caldwell Consistory - Bloomsburg, PA
They didn't have as much food as last year, but it was good.  The highlight was the Louisiana Alligator and Andouille Sausage Chowder from the Turkey Hill Brewing Company (no relationship to the convenience store, iced tea or ice cream company).

First Round Outfield

Cornelius Randolph, Mickey Moniak and Adam Haseley
Reading Fightin Phils (2019)
The Double A affiliate of the Phillies has a starting outfield comprised of three first round draft picks: Cornelius Randolph was the 10th overall pick in the 2015 draft, Mickey Moniak was the first overall pick in the 2016 draft, and Adam Haseley was the 8th overall pick in the 2017 draft (photo by David Swanson - Philadelphia Inquirer).

I Ain't Afraid Of No Board Game

The Real Ghostbusters board game
Milton Bradley (1986)
I was looking through old photos that I took when I was a kid and came across these shots of The Real Ghostbusters board game.  They're not very clear, but I tried to piece them together as best I could.

The Black Hole

Black Hole (M87 Galaxy)
Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration
Using a global network of telescopes, scientists have taken the first photograph of a black hole in history.  It's in the center of the M87 galaxy, 55 million light-years from Earth, and has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun.

Phillies 70's Flashback

Philadelphia Phillies Usherette
Veterans Stadium Section 107 (1970's)

Jack & Cokesicles

Jack & Coke Popsicles
Recipe by Boulder Locavore
Using a 2.5 ounce/cavity popsicle mold, pour 1/2 ounce of Jack Daniels into each mold.
Pour 2 ounces of the flattened Mexican Coke into each mold. Stir to combine.
Place the lid on the popsicle mold.
Insert the popsicle sticks.
Freeze for several hours or overnight until firm.

Gabba Gabba Hey Of The Dead

Erick Rowan
Wrestlemania 35 - East Rutherford, NJ
Former tag team champion Erick Rowan has been wearing heavy metal shirts on WWE programming over the past few weeks.  He saved the best one for tonight - a mashup of The Ramones and the films of George Romero.  It's available from the creator on TeePublic.

Hall of Fame Haircuts

Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake
WWE Hall of Fame: Class of 2019
My earliest memory of professional wrestling was when I was five years old.  I was sitting on my dad's lap while he was watching Saturday Night's Main Event.  I had my head turned toward my dad and was watching the reflection of the television in the reflection of his glasses.  The Dream Team was in the ring with their manager, Johnny Valiant.  I asked what the guy's name on the screen was, and dad told me that it was Brutus Beefcake.  This was years before "The Barber" gimmick when he was still a heel.

There are few things that have stayed with me for my entire life, but professional wrestling is one of those things, and it all started with that one moment with my dad back in 1985 watching Brutus Beefcake in the ring.  Thank you, Barber, and congratulations on being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Smells Like Space Invaders

Kurt Cobain playing Atari 2600
Montage Of Heck (2015)
It was 25 years ago today that Kurt Cobain died.  In this photo from the Montage of Heck documentary, a very young man who would become the reluctant icon of grunge rock plays on a console that would become the icon of classic gaming.

Goes Well With A Glass Of Melodic Milk

Harmonious Ham
Pierre Signatures
It was pretty decent for a vending machine sandwich.

Citizens Bank Park South

Nationals Park
April 2, 2019
Bryce Harper and the Phillies made their way to Washington DC last night, but they didn't come alone.  Busloads of fans from the City of Brotherly Love, not to mention countless fans who made the drive themselves, invaded the right field stands for Harper's first game against his old team.

The fans turned the place into Citizens Bank Park South, and the team made sure those fans went home happy.  Our 24 year old fourth starter Zach Eflin outdueled three time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, striking out nine batters in five innings.  Bryce Harper also silenced the fans of his former club, going 3-5 with a single, a double and an absolute moon shot of a home run in the 8th inning en route to an 8 - 2 victory.

The loyal Nationals "fans" who are still crying over Bryce leaving their city showed their true colors when they exited the ballpark in droves in the bottom of the 6th inning.  Hey guys... if you can't stay to support your team, don't be surprised when the face of your franchise signs to play for a team with fans who actually give a damn about the game.

Happy Birthday, Dad

Pop turned sixty today.  Where does the time go?

Peachy Potty

Beercade
Maple Street - Omaha, NE
I'm not sure if I could do my business with Princess Peach staring at me.