Superman Retires

While I'm on the subject of Superman, check this out....

Indian Superman

You ain't seen nothing until you've seen Indian Superman and his super dance skills!





(thanks to Presurfer)

By The Power Of Greyskull!

"I have the powerrrrrr!!!!!"


Yes.... you certainly do.
And aren't you just sassy in your matching boots & loincloth?
Say Goldilocks, does you're mom know her wig is missing?

Quesa-ghetti

Kaysa-WHAT?!?
Quesa-ghetti.

I was feeling lazy tonight but also kind of experimental (emphasis on mental) in the kitchen when I got home tonight.

I wanted something "Mexican" but I still had leftover spaghetti from last night.
Hmmm... what to make, what to make?
Oh! I know!
I'll put some spaghetti between two tortillas slap on some grated cheese and heat it up in the oven!
Viola! Quesa-ghetti!

It was good, but sadly I don't think Taco Bell will be knocking down my door for the recipe any time soon.

Evergreen State Fair

Well, I'm a little behind the times but here's how our day at the fair went;

On (last) Sunday afternoon, Hotness and I decided to go to the State Fair.

After picking up tickets at the grocery store in town ('cause they're $2 cheaper) we headed off to go eat bad-for-you food, see farm animals, and watch the freaky people wandering around.

I've pretty much grown-up at this fair. I lived higher up on the hill above it for quite a few years, and my grandmother used to have a booth selling hand-sewn articles in one of the buildings.

My aunt was also a superintendent of one of the display buildings, so I got to work at the fair (and therefore get in free) when I was younger.

Anyway, having said all that... not a whole lot has really changed and yet quite a bit has changed.

It's still fun, but as I get older it seems that the fair gets smaller.

Some of the food booths have been there for more than 30 years, and new ones have come and gone.

One of the new ones was a "resturant" that had tables and served you your food. (Instead of standing in line & waiting)

They were offering 'gator bites and fried catfish.

Hmmm... I've never tried alligator before and Hotness has never had catfish. So guess where we ate first?

Yup!

Hotness and her catfish, with a big ol' serving of baked beans!

She loved it! I'll have to make it at home sometime. It's been a while since I've had catfish.

The fried 'gator bites.

Honestly? You could've told me they were chicken nuggets. I couldn't tell the difference. They were really good, but when people say "it tastes like chicken", this really did.

After eating, we looked at the old farm equipment and tractors. Nowadays it's unusual to see "MADE IN USA" on a product, but it was cool to see so many items that displayed it proudly. Ah... simpler times.

Not really much in the way of action at the fair.

Mostly we looked at the animals, and this year there was a display of exotic animals to view.

I had never seen a live zebra before, but they had two of them. They're kinda cool-looking close-up.

(I hear that you can get your picture taken with a zebra in Tijuana, but it's really a pony painted with black & white stripes)

After that we went to the horse barns. I can never escape the pull of anything horse-related when Hotness is with me. But it wasn't a total waste of time. I bought two raffle tickets to win a young draft horse, so we'll see what happens.

Then we watched the lumberjack show. It was w-a-y smaller than the Deming, WA lumberjack show, but still was fun.

We wandered around some more but like I said, it seems like the fair gets smaller every year.

We stopped to eat some more "fair food". (Hotness had an ice cream cone, I had an elephant ear)

There wasn't much else to see or do, other than go to the carnival, so we headed back towards the car to go home.

We passed the WA State Dairy Women booth, and of course I couldn't pass up getting my annual "Purple Cow"*!

And closer to the gate we picked up some Fair scones for breakfast the next morning.

It sounds kind of boring when I talk about it, but really the fair (or ANY fair for that matter) needs to be experienced. We had a lot of fun and surprisingly didn't spend a lot of money this time.

I hope you got a chance to go to a fair this summer in your neck of the woods.

Our next fair (and the last one for us this year) is coming up in Sept.

We're going to the Puyallup Fair to see Weird Al Yankovic in concert. Yay!

----------------------------------

* a "Purple Cow" is:

blackberry ice cream

blackberry syrup

lemon-lime soda

It's served as a float, but quickly turns into a fizzy, purple, blackberry cup of Heaven! I have one every year at the fair.

Show Me The Green, Baby!

"Man prints bogus $100 bills to buy lap dances at strip club"

You know, this would've been something out of an '80's movie. Something by John Hughes, maybe.

I can't believe nobody has tried it before. Maybe we just hadn't heard about until now.
I guess we know not to mess with a stripper and her money. If anybody is going to be familiar with the Benjamin's, it's gonna be a them.

Look! Up In The Sky!

It's a bird!
It's a plane!
No, it's.... some tubby guy flying around?!?


I'm reading a comic mini-series called "Bizarre New World" about a guy who suddenly discovers that he can fly.
He's doesn't know how it happened or if it's permanent, and so he's not sure what to do about it.
It's a very interesting take on a character suddenly developing a 'superpower'.


I found out about it while I was reading Terry Moore's blog several months ago (Apr. 11, '07.... check the archives). The creator's of BNW had given him a copy to read and he really enjoyed it.
Being the "Moore Whore" that I am, I bought the first issue and it was a really great book.
I don't think I would have picked it up if it hadn't been recommended by someone I already enjoy reading from, so I'm glad I did it.


If you're looking for something that's not superhero-based, this is a fun story.

In the second issue the main character (who can now fly) asks a bunch of his engineer buddies how.. you know, HYPOTHETICALLY.. if a person could fly, what would be the scientific cause for it.
Their explanations and theories are pretty funny.

It's only three issues long, so not a big investment of time or money.
If you can't find it at your local comic book shop, you can buy the issues directly from the publisher.


In the meantime, you can pretend to be a chubby, middle-aged, blue-collar guy and fly around to your heart's content by visiting here.

Old Skool Fun

Remember the Atari 2600?
Ah.... graphics just aren't the same anymore.

Well, Dave Campbell from Dave's Longbox posted a link to a site where you can make your own labels for game cartridges. And I'm putting here for you to have fun with. (See how nice I am?)
But first, check out these games:



(Yes! A monkey. Riding a dog. Rodeo style. Ya-hoo, buckaroo!)



(Dive deep into your choice of caverns to fight the Nose Goblins and find the hidden treasure!)



(This is my 'tribute' to KMFDM who just released a new CD this week)


You can find the label creator here. Have fun!

No Love For Wal-Mart

I hate shopping at Wal-Mart.
On a recent (forced) visit to one, I was reminded just why other nations dislike us.
It could be because of their crappy wages and lack of proper health care for employees.
Or their eagerness to dominate the market and drive everyone else out of business.
Perhaps it might be because they are trying to find ways of not even paying employees at all now.
Not to mention that every inbred redneck in the surrounding area is there, standing in the aisles beating their kids or buying more sugary crap to feed their fat @$$'s.



I haven't yet seen the movie, but I'm wanting to watch "The High Cost Of Low Prices".
It's a scathing look at what that corporation is costing us as a society.



Anyway, I'm not going to keep going off on a tangent. I actually came across this video and wanted to share it.
I think it's been around for a couple of years, but I hadn't seen it until just now.

Big Box Mart Funny Jokes at JibJab

Pretty accurate depiction of what they are doing, in my opinion.

Cheap At Twice The Price

So I just found out that my blog is worth..... $0.00.
Yeah, that's right. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

My blog is worth $0.00.
How much is your blog worth?

I should feel bad, but then I found out that Technogreek's isn't worth anything either. (Sorry buddy!)

I guess these blogs are just a "labor of love" for us, huh?

Vegetalien

Man, I loves me the "Alien" movies.
Except for "Alien vs. Predator". That blew chunks!


If you're not familiar with them, the aliens incubate inside a "host" (human, dog, parakeet, etc...) thus taking on some of the attributes when they emerge from the host, and reaking holy living hell on everyone.


So... what if there was a sub-species that was vegetarian and not carnivorous?
Well, it would look like this I guess;

Imagine making a salad and having THIS pop out and go running across your counter top.



You can read about this picture here.

More fun in Missoula

I'll try not to make this post as long-winded as the previous one, but here are some more pictures from our vacation.

On one morning, Hotness & I had breakfast at Liquid Planet. We ordered coffee and crepes (mmm... yummy!)

Mine is in the foreground; a "shroomlette" with egg, mushrooms, cheese, and green onions. Hotness had a berry crepe with lots of fresh, mixed berries and whipped cream.

My brother called me the night before we left for Montana. He and some friends had gone to Sturgis for the bike rally, and was coming back through Missoula on his way home.
We caught up with him just a little bit outside of town.
Our mom would be so proud!

Hotness and some of her friends from high school:


Here is the Big Dipper sign.

Great ice cream and certainly a place to stop at during a visit to Missoula during the summer!

One of the popular watering holes in town is "The Rhinoceros".

I've been buying T-shirts from there for the last few years, but never actually had a drink there... until this year.
The Hotness & I each enjoyed a shot of some fine Jose Cuervo La Reserva Tequila.
Expensive, but very smooth.
Another good tequila to add to my list of favorites!

Well, again... we had a ton of fun and good times. We took somewhere around 300 pictures between the two of us. W-a-y too many to post on here, but at least you got to see a few and get an idea of what we did and where we went.

Oh! Here's one other for you:

Hmm... that might explain why there was so much smoke during our visit.

Anyway, that's all for our Missoula trip.

Other things coming up soon are:
State Fair in Monroe
Weird Al Yankovic in concert
Labor Day weekend camping trip
Keep reading.......

Aaaand.... We're Back!

Whew! What a great time we had on vacation.

We both took off Wednesday morning, and after getting coffee we headed east on I-90 to Missoula.

We stopped briefly just outside of Vantage, WA to eat a sandwich and take some pictures.

Here's a view from the rest stop:

As I mentioned before we left, it was Hotness' 20th High School Reunion. I was there for the the 10th reunion, so I got to see a lot of the same people I met last time and also met a bunch of new friends this time around.

If you've ever gone to a High School reunion with a spouse or 'significant other', it can be a very boring time. Luckily, having visited Missoula during the years since the last one, I was able to leave and walk around town whenever I got bored.

One night I left and had dinner at Tipu's Tiger. Wonderful Indian food and tucked away in an alley just off Higgins Ave.

On another evening I went and had Mexican at El Cazador.

In the meantime, I walked around downtown and took pictures.

The XXXX's / Brennan's Wave

Capt. John Mullan

On Thursday, we went to the Western Montana Fair and had some fun.

Hotness and her best friend from high school / some piggie lovin'

Me posing like an idiot.... as usual

"Hmmm... I wonder where I can get some lemonade around here?"

Friday through Sunday were taken up with reunion get-togethers, but on Sunday evening we were able to attend a free concert by the Missoula Symphony Orchestra at Caras Park.

Hotness' 4th-grade teacher was one of the violinists for the orchestra and introduced us to her chair partner, Valerie Sim. She hails from Canada and can kick some serious ass on the violin!

When we were introduced, Valerie played a little Irish tune and proceeded to: Play the violin behind her back...

...then on top of her head...

... and lastly, she held the bow between her legs and moved the violin back and forth to play it.

She never missed a beat! It was incredible!

We also got to meet the new symphony director, Darko Butorak.

Many fires were burning away across the Montana landscape. While we weren't in any direct danger, the smoke made breathing difficult at times and was thick enough to make visibilty very difficult throughout the valley.

Normally, you can see the surrounding mountains from ANYWHERE in Missuola, but this year even being just a short walking distance from the "M" made it hard to see.

My plans to climb the "M" trail were cancelled until another time, as trying to climb it with all that smoke didn't seem like such a good idea.

However, the smoke did provide a nice sunset picture:

I mentioned that Hotness' 4th-grade teacher was a violinist in the symphony. We met up with her again on Monday to have dinner at her house, but unfortunately her husband had been called to help fight some of the fires, so he wan't able to join us.

While we were there, we caught up on what each of us had been doing.

She told us about her trip to Africa with her husband and their summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro last year. She gave me a piece of obsidian from the top of the mountain to add to my collection of dirt and rocks from around the world! (Something which I'll have to post about at another time)

Tuesday and Wednesday we spent shopping for gifts to bring back and visiting with friends.

I went to Muse Comics to say "hi" to Amanda (the store owner) and browse the shelves.

She always comes out to see the Emerald City Comic Con, and I load her up with all kinds of free goodies to take back for her customers.

Her store has been very succcessful in such a small town, and she has been able to open up a second store in the Downtown shopping district. Congratulations!

We also stopped and shopped at local Missoula mainstays, Rockin' Rudy's and Butterfly Herbs.

We were invited to stay with some friends in St. Ignatius, but another wildfire broke out that closed the highway temporarily and kept us from getting there until Wednesday evening.

When the freeway was safe enought to open and travel on again, we finally were able to get there and we could see the fire hadn't been contained.

We stopped at the St. Ignatius Mission to meet the priest, Father Drew Maddock, but he wasn't around. I took a couple of pictures of the inside of the mission and left.

It was too bad he wasn't there, I'd have really enjoyed hearing about the history of the mission. Well... maybe next time.

We stayed with friends that Hotness knew through her work, and had a great evening relaxing before we took off on our trip home the next day.

I got some nice sunset pictures while we were there:

Our trip home seemed to take F-O-R-E-V-E-R, but we actually did it in the same amount of time it took to get to Missoula. We were just more tired coming back, I guess.

We did a lot of fun things, too many to mention all here, and took a bunch more pictures.

I'll post more of them later, but for now I wanted to let everyone know how our trip went and show you some of what we experienced.

I hope you missed us and that you enjoyed hearing about our trip now that we're back.

More fun adventures coming soon, so stayed tuned!

Quickie Post - part 2

I'm using a dial-up connection today so I'm going to have to make this a short update.
Lots of stuff to tell you about and many, many pictures to share of our vacation.

Here's what to look forward to:
Hotness's 20th High-school reunion
blazing fires across Montana and the resultant smoke in the Missoula valley
good food
new aquisitions to my collection of dirt and rocks from around the world
fun at the symphony

Unfortunately I was not able to climb the "M" this year, mainly because of the smoke, but I'll talk about that more whan we get back home.

Well, hopefully that'll keep you waiting in suspense until I get back to tell you all about it.
More to come soon......

Quickie Post

Not much to really say or talk about.
I just wanted to let anybody who is reading this know that we'll be leaving for vacation tomorrow morning.

I may not be able to update you on what is going on until we get back, so there might not be anything new for another week and a half.

However... when we get back I should have PLENTY to talk about.
And hopefully a view of beautiful Missoula, Montana as seen from the "M". (You'll see what I'm talking about)

So in the meantime;
eat your vegetables
mind your manners
say your prayers
and don't forget to brush your teeth and take your vitamins

Camping: Denny Creek

As I mentioned before, I had another camping trip coming up and hopefully it would be presented in "Rain Free" Edition.

Thursday night I spent gathering all my camp gear together so I could pack the car that night, but it got to be so late that I went to bed and planned to do it in the morning. Yeah, right!
Friday morning I was dragging and to top it off.... it was spinkling (not quite raining, but definitely wet).
"Ugh! I guess I'll come home and pack after work instead."

When I got to work, it started to rain even more and continued throughout the morning.
Talk about depressing! It had been nice ALL week until then. Why did it have to be raining now?!? My last 4 camping trips all involved being in the rain. Just great.
Then around 1:00 it stopped. At 2:00 you could see pieces of blue sky. By 5:00 it was sunny, dry and warm. Woo-hoo!!!
And it stayed nice all during our camping trip.

After work, I dashed home, packed the car and drove east on I-90 almost to the summit of Snoqualmie Pass to a little campground at Denny Creek. The campground is really nice and near a lot of great hikes for both experienced and novice hikers, as well as for children.
Anyway, I got there and was immediately fed a couple of hot dogs to keep up my strength so I could put my tent up.
Then I made some "pizza pockets" over the campfire. Other than that, Friday was relatively quiet.


Saturday, however, I got up and started a campfire and began making breakfast. I was soon joined by the rest of the campers and we all enjoyed a big breakfast!
I made bacon & hashbrowns. G-Rod made toasted bagels with egg. And Atul made coffee.
Then we sat around and waited for more of our little group to show up, which they did around 10:00 a.m.

I went on a short hike with G-Rod, Sim, and Sim's mom up to the Slippery Slabs on Denny Creek.





We came back to get some lunch, and some of our group had arrived while we were away.
Lunch consisted of whatever anyone wanted to make and share, and then we proceeded to enjoy being in the outddors and fresh air:


The afternoon was sunny, so we made some "Sunprints" with leaves and flowers we collected on our hike earlier.
Later in the afternoon, some of our group had to leave and go home. They weren't able to stay for the night, but had just come out to visit.
We made another campfire, ate dinner. shifted our chairs as the campfire smoke blew in our direction, and 'chillaxed' some more.

Remember those huckleberries we picked at the last camp? Well, I brought 'em and made campfire huckleberry pies. Here's what they look like:
(1)
(2)
(3)
Put a little butter and cinnamon & sugar on one half of the pie-iron, place a piece of bread on it and then a spoonful of berries(1). Add some butter and brown sugar(2). Top it with another piece of bread(3) and then cook it over the coals of your campfire (or charcoal briquets).

And when you're done cooking it, hopefully it DOESN'T look something like this:

Yup! I burned mine ALL the way through. I had made three other ones earlier and they came out great, but when I got to mine I got sidetracked with something and it got burned to a cinder!
Needless to say, I didn't get to eat one so I don't know how it tasted. But everyone else who had one said they came out great.
"No complaints here!"

In the middle of the night, after we'd all gone to bed, we had a night-visitor:
Those dark-colored 'peanuts' are animal droppings. I'm not sure what it was that actually chewed through the plastic, but we had several critters running around the campsite.



This little guy was eating crumbs from a muffin that got dropped earlier in the morning.



And this dirty bird was taking advantage of the hole that got chewed through the lid to the nuts. He pecked at it for a while until he figured out how to get his beak in far enough to grab a cashew, then off he flew with his prize.

So to wrap it all up, we had an awesome fun time. The sun was shining. The campsite was dry.
Our short hike was pleasant. And great company was enjoyed with one another.

Our next trip is coming up Labor Day Weekend and hopefully the weather will turn out nice for that one as well.

Hotness & I will be taking off for vacation in a couple of days. If you don't see any posts for a while, fear not. I will return with stories and adventures from Missoula, MT.