News of the unusual

Got a mega-keen valentine from meredith today, for being fast on the aim draw.

Very spiffy… all hand drawn… witty and beautifully done. I’ll scan it sometime soon. 🙂

Today’s shopping venture was a success! And look! More than two colors (Well… more than just black and white… some mid-tones, too, for fun)

A pair of Dressy black sneaker-shoes, two pair of fresh boxers. Four new Undershirts, four polos and two regular nice collared shirts. I’m stylin’. Just about everything in my wardrobe mixes and matches… with a few exceptions. (White socks and black shoes, for example)

I wore the sneaks out of the store, and they did well.

After big and tall, I waited at the stop for about ten minutes… I realized I was across the street from the Solid Gold building… it’s closed, but it was worth taking a snapshot of someplace that was very educational and lucrative at the time.

I jumped from there to Barnes and Noble, to burn off a little of the gift card I got for my birthday. It’s *very* easy to spend money in there. I got a raspberry slushie and Dark Knight Strikes Again… It was a quick read, and I was rather disappointed at some of the plot elements. Overall, thought, I liked it. I think it shined the most in the first two-thirds of the story, and the sketchbook at the end is interesting. The art side of it… it seems like his skill went down a notch. Nice to see some other folks brought out of retirement. It’s not one of my top 20 comics, but it’s not in the bottom 20, either. Maybe a 6 out of 10 rating overall.

Wow… Google bought blogger! I wonder if that’s good or bad news for LJ? I know that LJ isn’t fond of being indexed by Google, for fear of bandwidth issues. Here’s a perspective that might make LJ come out on top.

Okie… got to go shoppin’. Going to swing by the bro’s place, see if he wants to join me, and then it’s off to get some new duds.

See you later, dear journal!

Holy cow…nice piece of reproduction. I had the Donkey Kong Jr. LCD game way back when.

Newt a Year ago

What sweets did people eat at the fair before cotton candy? Pie? Fruit? Cotton Candy was invented in 1897, and sold as “fairy floss” at the same fair with the first ice-cream cone if memory serves. I’m guessing before that, the popcorn and peanuts were the thing… maybe peanut brittle? Cracker Jack wasn’t until 1893. I’m not sure how old funnel cake is… maybe that’s the stuff.

Random Scotto Factoid – We actually had sporks as part of our silverware (made from stainless steel) when I was a kid. I also enjoyed eating with my scout knife’s spoon and fork.

The photos are chilling.

“On January 7th, 1942, one month after Pearl Harbor, T.W. Smith, Jr., the owner of the Sun Rubber Company, and his designer, Dietrich Rempel, with Walt Disney’s approval introduced a protective mask for children. This design of the Mickey Mouse Gas Mask for children was presented to Major General William N. Porter, Chief of the Chemical Warfare Service. After approval of the CWS, Sun Rubber Products Company produced sample masks for review. Other comic book character designs were to follow, depending on the success of the Mickey Mouse mask. The mask was designed so children would carry it and wear it as part of a game. This would reduce the fear associated with wearing a gas mask and hopefully, improve their wear time and, hence, survivability.”

“Very few of these Mickey Mouse gas masks survived. The US Army Chemical Museum at Fort McClellan, Alabama, has a hand-made prototype. The 45th Infantry Division Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has a production specimen on permanent display with other gas masks in the combat support area of the museum. The Walt Disney Archives, Burbank, California, has a face piece without ears, lenses, or a canister, and a mask owned by the founder of the Sun Rubber Company was on display at the Summit County (Ohio) Historical Society’s “Toys Made in Summit County” exhibit in 1982.”

Hmm… What would it be today? Yu Gi Oh? Hamtaro?