Went to the local Winn-Dixie for the first time (I usually shop at Publix)… The prices, selection and cleanliness at Publix are much better. The Winn-Dixie is new, but is already looking like a future “broken down” store. a few months of poor care, and it’ll look like an aged husk. I couldn’t be bothered to pick up anything that wasn’t pre-packaged as a result… I’ll have to hit my green-grocer up midweek, instead.

Weather outside is getting to be ideal. Cool enough to really enjoy long walks again.

I also swung by the library, just to sniff out any new DVDs that might be worth watching… friends of the library had a cart out front full of books and other media, marked 3/$1.00. I picked up a barely opened copy of Fleischer Popeye cartoons, Superman (the un-remastered ones), and a Marlon Brando Movie: One-eyed Jacks, for the grand total of $1. Not a bad haul, at all.

One-Eyed Jacks has a pretty prophetic fat joke made by Karl Malden in a sombrero to Marlon Brando.

Bonus on the Popeye DVD is a tour of Fleischer studios in Miami. Sort of neat to see local life 50 or more years ago. Popeye cracks me up… He and Bluto are at least medium level superheroes, but all they do is selfish stuff for the most part. (Run for president, Woo Olive Oyl, Just trying to get sleep, etc, etc) It’s also kind of odd that they’re both smokers.. pipe and cigar.

Sometimes I picture myself as the eye of the storm. I’m mostly a passive person, taking the path of least resistance to my goals. I can see disaster out on the fringes of my life, but things are generally calm where I tread. Brother is a different story… he’s fortunate, but is constantly in the midst of trouble, not just near it. Additionally, I also like to walk along the beach.

Monday Meeting. I have to somehow convince the big kahuna that mass e-mail marketing (SPAM) is *not* the way for us to look to raise awareness and open pocketbooks. The only people that make any money from the spam industry are folks that sell spam lists to people, and people who sell the “service” of pumping the bilge that is spam out to the poor public. I fear we will see no return on our investment of a list purchase, and worse, that our good name will be tossed in the dumper. I’ve tried explaining it in the past, but marketers seem to have more sway than my explaining how spam works in the real world. All I can do is stress my point again, and ask people what *they* do when they see a strange email in the box…. *delete*. Maybe explaining that they’ll be blocked by the bigger orgs will do the trick.

More info on that A&E Trolly that I rode last weekend.

Dad’s Home – This makes me smile. Super Powers, Insanity, and a smiling man rocking out.

“Man whats the matter with that cat there?”
“must be full of reefer”
“full of reefer?!”
“yea man”
“you mean that cats high?!”
“sailing”
“sailing”
“sailing lightly”
“get away from here
Man is that the reefer man?”
“thats the reefer man”
“I believe hes losing his mind”
“I think hes lost his mind!”

Oh have you ever met that funny reefer man reefer man
have you ever met that funny reefer man reefer man
If he said he swam to china, and he sell you south Carolina
then you know your talkin’ to that reefer man
Have you ever met funny reefer man reefer man
Have you ever met funny reefer man reefer man
If he said he walks the ocean, any time he takes the notion
then you know your talkin’ to reefer man.

Have you ever met this funny reefer man reefer man
oh baby baby baby reefer man reefer man
If he trades you dimes for nickels
and calls watermelons pickles
then you know your talkin’ to that reefer man
Have you ever met funny reefer man reefer man
Have you ever met funny reefer man reefer man
If he takes a sudden mania
he’ll want to give you Pennsylvania
oh you know your talking to the reefer man

Have you ever met funny reefer man reefer man
Have you ever met funny reefer man reefer man
If he said one sweet is funny
because he wont sell me Atlantic
then you know your talkin to that reefer man

They made a Hercules and Xena cartoon? Wacky. They even got the primary players as voices. I’d never heard of it until yesterday afternoon.

Free Halloween Clip art (it’s where I got Mr. Skelly)

Hmm… I’m sort of glad that Viva Broward doesn’t translate to Oktoberfest. Heil Broward! has some scary connotations.

Doom^3tm (I wasn’t sure if you could nest superscript) is really nifty… It’s a shame that it’s too scary for most of my friends to get into. Sammy, Whims, Danny all are a bit too squeamish to gun down zombies and demons on an alien planet. I think that GP, Katt, and Hala would all do fine with it.

‘New’ giant ape found in DR Congo

Scientists believe they have discovered a new group of giant apes in the jungles of central Africa.

The animals, with characteristics of both gorillas and chimpanzees, have been sighted in the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to local villagers, the apes are ferocious, and even capable of killing lions.

The UK magazine New Scientist is to publish its report about the mysterious creatures next week.

If they are a new species of primate, it could be one of the most important wildlife discoveries in decades.

The discovery of these apes “reveals just how much we still have to learn about our closest living relatives,” New Scientist says.

They stand up to two meters tall, the size of gorillas, and like gorillas, they nest on the ground, not in trees.

But they live hundreds of kilometers away from any other known gorilla populations, and their diet is closer to that of chimpanzees.

Primatologist Shelly Williams is thought to be the only scientist to have seen the apes.

During her visit to DR Congo two years ago, she says she captured them on video and located their nests.

She describes her encounter with them: “Four suddenly came rushing out of the bush towards me,” she told New Scientist.

“If this had been a bluff charge, they would have been screaming to intimidate us. These guys were quiet. And they were huge. They were coming in for the kill. I was directly in front of them, and as soon as they saw my face, they stopped and disappeared.”

Mystery

The discovery has baffled scientists.

There are three controversial possibilities to explain the origin of the mystery apes:

* They are a new species of ape

* They are giant chimpanzees, much larger than any so far recorded, but behave like gorillas

* They could be hybrids, the product of gorillas mating with chimpanzees.

So far, researchers have little to go on, but they now plan to return to northern DR Congo to study the apes further.

In the meantime, there are fears that unless measures are taken to protect them, poaching could threaten this new group of primates before the mystery of their identity is resolved.

“This is a lawless area,” says Kenyan-based Swiss photographer Karl Ammann, who tipped Ms Williams off about the apes.

“The government has practically no control over hunting. If we found something interesting it would attract more investment. People would be more interested in conserving it.”

Dance of the Hawkmen from “Superman – The Underground World”

What Hawkmen were doing living underground, rather than out in the open is left as a cartoon mystery. Three Frames cut and resized. the actual dance is rather smooth and ornate.

Superman defeated them by throwing a bomb at the birdmen as they pursued, sealing them underground forever. I thought he only did that sort of thing to people who found out his secret identity? As for the story, Perry White thought it too incredible, so he burned it. Um. Superman lives in your town, and flying bird guys is too crazy to print? C’mon, Perry! Superman is a destroyer of an entire species of evil bird-men! The public has a right to know! Reanimated giant mummy-guardians (of King *Tush*! heh heh.), dope rings and mad scientists with magnetic telescopes, drawing down stray comets.. but no. Hawk guys are toooooo unbelievable.

These films were made when all men wore hats.

Except Perry White and Superman. No Super-hat for the Man of Steel, or his favorite crony in genocide.

Why else would Perry get to go hatless? I can see where Supes would be a special case, being an alien and all. He’d no more need a hat than an iguana or a house cat. Besides, Superman has a cape. Capes really only go with a few types of headgear. Top Hat, traveling cap, wizard’s hat or Hooded cowl. (A fedora, bowler or pith helmet would never do.)

I’ve also learned that the metropolis police are more than happy to use sandbagged bunkers, spotlights, dough boy soldiers with bayonets, and tripod-mounted heavy machine gun nests to fight bank robbers.

Heck, no way even John Dillinger is going to mess with that town.

Archives –

1 year ago – Bewitched name revelation, surgery dream, pumpkin stencils, Joker Poll, Bro shenanigans, misc cool linkies, dia de los muertos, book of sand

2 years ago – PB&J otter, saw Ray Iglesias, worldwar, magic pebble, Made a Dan Heroclix, Hot shower, Beekeeping, Zombie – alert, boogie man poll

3 years ago – Jiffy-pop monkeys, chimera / tantivy, evil news, moonflower haiku, bus ride, brain edibility probe, DB wrecks work surfing at IMT

4 years ago – Morning walkies, back when I worked the noon-8 shift, grumps, word detective, post 509, god’s wheel, million monkeys, missed debates