Easier Than Building Your Own Plinko Board

I'm a pretty big fan of video game adaptations of television game shows. I've played them all...from Hollywood Squares and Remote Control for the NES to Jeopardy! and The Weakest Link on Playstation...I've sampled quite a collection of these game show home versions. I enjoy their simple slow-paced game play based on skills not usually associated with video games. So I was pretty excited when I saw that The Price Is Right was headed for the Wii.

My excitement paid off. Wii's version of The Price is Right is a welcome addition to the world of video games based on game shows. The new game is a faithful reproduction of the classic game show. The Wii's unique controls make a nice match with TPIR's assortment of pricing games. Not to mention, all the sights, sounds, and music of the original show are captured perfectly.

First, you've got Contestant's Row, where you get your first bid in on some fabulous prizes. Right away, this is where TPIR sets itself apart from game show video games before it. Actual footage from the TV show is used to display the various items you'll be bidding on. In previous games, prizes were usually represented with a generic prize but here you get full video and real life prizes to bid on. Everything from specific cars to a snack side pack of Chips Ahoy cookies are all represented here. It's a nice touch. And on Contestant's Row you can even pull that bull crap where you bid one dollar more than someone else's bid. I swear if I was ever on that show for real and someone did that to me I'd knock their block off!

A good number of the pricing games that make up the bulk of an episode of TPIR are represented here as well. Yes, there's Plinko! And yes, the real greatest game of the show Cliffhanger...you know, the little mountain climber guy. That game is the bomb! There's a bunch of other ones too like Hole in One, and the one where you've got to find the front and back end of the car. Oh, and that one where you gotta run around and put the prices on everything and then check the clock to see how many you've got right and then go back and fix the prices. It's a lot less exhausting, I'm sure, playing that on the Wii then doing it for real.

They've got the big wheel in the middle of the show. You spin the wheel by grabbing on to it with the Wii remote and then virtually giving the wheel a spin. Nice Touch! There's also the Showcase Showdown if you can get to it, with two sets of fabulous prizes that you can pass or bid on.

In case you were wondering, you do not actually win real prizes playing this game. Money does not come out of you Wii, nor will a new car be delivered to your home. I know this because of the disclaimer at the beginning of the game that lets you know that the video game version is for "entertainment purposes only" and no real prizes or money will be awarded. Wow! Have we really come to that point in society where such a disclaimer is needed? That means one of two things: either somebody threatened to sue a video game company because money and prizes were not awarded to them, or I'm owed $750,000 from my home version of Deal or No Deal!

Watch ALF or You Are Stupid

One of the MANY problems with television today is that good old fashioned reruns are becoming a thing of the past. Oh sure, there's still plenty of reruns on TV at any hour of the day but you'll find the majority of them are shows from the last decade or so. Ya got The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on 14 different stations, you got Scrubs on 15 more channels, and why on earth is Becker on non-stop from 11pm till 5am? I'd love to turn on my TV and find Family Ties waiting for me or Alice, or It's A Living or how about some mother-lovin' Gimme A Break? Well, cable outlet WGN America is doing everyone a solid and they've got some good old school reruns in their lineup this season.

And not just any ol' reruns, mind you, but one of the finest sitcoms to come from the wonderful world of television of all time. That's right, it's my good buddy ALF! Now, yes I've got all four seasons of this fantastic television program on DVD and I can watch them whenever I please, but it's nice to have the ol' ALF'er back on the airwaves. I don't think ALF (1986-1990) has been broadcast on a national level since the old Odyssey network back in 1999. So it's great to have the fuzzy alien back on TV...even on his original night - Monday, at 8pm EST for a full hour, and then both episodes are rerun the following Sunday at 6pm EST.

Then get ready to sink your teeth into Newhart. Bob Newhart's 1982-1990 sitcom about a bed and breakfast in Vermont is seriously one of the wittiest sitcoms from the 80's. The cast and the writing is impeccable in every single episode. It's a great show that I haven't seen aired since Nick at Nite played it in the mid-90's. WGN America is running a full hour on Sunday nights at 8:00 pm EST. Good stuff, check it out!

WGN America is also the only place where you can see local favorite Homicide: Life on the Street weekdays at 2:00pm and you can see actual honest-to-goodness black and white television with back to back episodes of The Honeymooners Sunday nights at 9 pm EST.

If you don't know where WGN America is on your cable line up, scroll through the TV Guide listings and keep an eye open.

Charlie Brown Beyond the Holidays

When you think of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts you probably don't think of "stories". In fact, the problem is most people associate Charlie Brown and Snoopy with Halloween and Christmas and that's about it. When I was younger, I read lots and lots of Peanuts books. I pretty much read anything I could get my hands on. I read compilations of the daily comic strip and I read book versions of the numerous television specials. While the daily strip provided a laugh every day, if you read everyday or read them collected in book you'd find great stories being told like the time Lucy buried Linus' blanket in the backyard and Linus dug up the whole neighborhood looking for it. The animated Peanuts television specials offered a more narrative venue for Snoopy and the gang. While I love the holiday specials, I'm equally as fond of a number of the animated half-hours that didn't have anything to do with a holiday. Sadly, most of these specials have fallen through the cracks and haven't been seen on television in decades, yet alone a DVD release.

So I couldn't be more excited for January 29, 2009 when You're A Good Sport, Charlie Brown breaks the mold and becomes one of the first non-holiday releases from the Peanuts Vault (which is located in Snoopy's dog house, of course). This awesome 1975 tale tells the story of when Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty enter a motocross race against a mysterious challenger known only as The Masked Marvel. If you don't all ready know, look at the DVD cover art pictured here and you can probably guess who the Masked Marvel is! (I love this show so much is was even mentioned in a 1998 episode of The Ed South Show.) And if adding this great show wasn't cool enough for my DVD library, the disc also sports You're The Greatest, Charlie Brown. This is an equally awesome Peanuts outing which debuted in 1979 and has Charlie Brown entering a Decathlon in the Junior Olympics. Can-Not-Wait-my friends! Don't be a lame grown-up...this is an hour of solid television entertainment you should reconnect with!

First Homework Assignment

This one is a little late...but a couple of weeks ago Elias had his first homework assignment from Kindergarten. He was to make a book about leaves changing colors. He took it very serious and did a really good job with it. I know this might not mean anything to most of you out there, but to me it was a special moment - the first time my son and I worked on school work together.

Here's his masterpiece, soon to be on the New York Times Bestersellers list:

I helped a little...

Still The Greatest Ride Ever

If you want to hear me drone on for endless hours about something then just bring up the old Hanna-Barbera ride at Universal Studios in Orlando. In fact, I went into great detail about the ride a couple of years ago in a rather lenghty post here on WWoB. For those of you not in the know, the Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera ride was a motion-simulator style ride where guests boarded little spaceships to help Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo find Elroy Jetson while traveling through the worlds of The Flintsones, Scooby-Doo, and The Jetsons. I swear, I've never smiled harder than when I was on that ride.

Universal Studios decided to replace this awesome ride with some lame attraction staring Jimmy Neutron. (Let me just point out that Jimmy Neutron is already done and over with while the Hanna-Barbera characters remain treasured icons of American pop culture). However, now thanks to the wonders of YouTube we can all experience the complete awesomeness of this ride. I found this video of the film used in the attraction. This isn't someone's home video recording, this is a copy of the actual film. Enjoy and feel free to move your chair around while watching this film...

Three Screen Memories

I have alot of great memories of a variety of different movie theatres that I frequented in my younger years. We were never ones to just go to the same theatre everytime we went to the movies but there are three theatres that stick out in my mind as the most memorable.

First was the awesome Westview Cinemas on Rt. 40 in Catonsville, Maryland. This was a giant theatre with a beautiful lobby and a very dated look inside. It had a low-tech snackbar that offered all the movie theatre staples at somewhat reasonable prices. Their theatre #5 was just about the most awesome place to see a movie. It was a huge auditorium with a giant curved widescreen that sat behind a curtain. The sound system was fantastic, and I would often go see whatever movie was playing in #5 just because the presentation was so good. The theatre went out of business in 1997. The last film I saw there was the first Austin Powers movie.

Second, was the Lowes Columbia Palace 9. This theatre opened when I was in the 8th grade, and I can remember going there for the first time - my mom took my brother and I and my friend Roy to see The Three Amigos. Good Stuff. It's probably the theatre I've been to the most. When I was in high school my friend Jason and I would end up at Palace 9 at least once a week. Sometimes, on a weekend, we would easily catch 2 to 3 shows for the price of one. They ended up tearing down this piece of my childhood to make way for a Giant Food in 2001. Last movie I saw there was Remember the Titans.

And last we had the General Cinema Columbia City III which sat in downtown Columbia since 1972 across the street from the mall. My earliest movie going memories are from this theatre including my first movie ever: Once Upon a Time (a 1976 German animated film that we must have seen in a re-release or kiddie matinee) And I can totally remember back to 1981 and me standing in the theatre all by myself watching the final credits of The Great Muppet Caper and getting the bonus joke all the way at the end of the movie. I also saw my first Police Academy in the theatre here...it was #5: Assignment Miami Beach and in high school I cut summer school to ride my bike to the theatre to see Jetsons The Movie on opening day. Alot of great memories at this theatre which was apparently torn down in 2000. I'm not sure what the last movie I saw there was, but I'm guessing it was Jane Austin's Mafia!

Anywho...the point of all this is...for anyone who frequented the Columbia City III back in the day, or if you had a General Cinema in your hometown: here's a great little video I found on
YouTube the other night. It's an 8-minute package of all the old film elements used before the movies at General Cinemas. The goes from the 60's to the 90's. It's awesome! Enjoy....

He Sure Plays A Mean Pinball

I've always wanted to go to a Coin-op Show, where people buy and sell coin-operated amusement machines. I would love to own a coin-op kiddie ride and I think it would be cool to get one while I've got little kids who could enjoy riding on it. Well, today I made it to The White Rose Game Room Show which was kind of what I was looking for but it was mostly pinball machines. It was still cool, because I've always enjoyed pinball not only as a game but some of the machines are real works of pop art. The main attraction at this show was the main room which was made up of hundreds of pinball machines that you could play without quarters. Your admission to the show included unlimited play on tons of pinballs, a few video games, and other electronic wonders. It was a real blast playing some of the older machines from the 60's and 70's with their mechanical sounds and bells and low-tech game play. Of course, I brought alone the ol' WWOB camera and took a few photos for ya'll...

Great machine from the 60's with some nice bikini girl artwork.

This Power Play machine has a great red, white and blue color scheme that screams mid-70's!

I started to play this machine but then the game went on for too long and it didn't make any sense and...oh yeah, the movie Waterworld sucked!

Sadly, the machine did not feature the voice of Mr. Bill Shatner

Before she owned an amusement park, Dolly Parton was a pinball table.

Take a look at some more of my pictures at the WWoB Photo Album.

Top 10 Dog Movies

I gotta say that I was rather disappointed with Beverly Hills Chihuahua. When the first trailer popped up online a few months ago I was instantly sold. It was a minute and a half clip of thousands of CG-chihuahuas dancing and singing an ode to themselves amidst ancient ruins. I had no idea what this movie could possibly be and why it was called Beverly Hill Chihuahua but I was ready to clear some room in my all time Top 10 Favorite Movies and make way for this musical canine escapade.


It was about an hour into BHC that I realized: not only have we not seen the musical number from the trailer but this movie has NOTHING to do with what was in the trailer! The movie is a pretty standard dog gets lost story. People try to find the dog, there's some other dogs that get involved, they all have adventures, they are all reunited at the end. It's not bad and it had some funny moments...the kids sure loved it. But...where was my big Mayan Pyramid musical number? Near the end of the film, the Beverly Hills Chihuahua and her associates do meet up with the dogs that were singing and dancing in the trailer. The scene builds and builds, and I was on the edge of my seat ready for the payoff of that big musical number...but alas, it never comes!


Beverly Hills Chihuahua isn't a bad movie, but like so many other movies today it just isn't that spectacular either. However...if you're in the mood for a good dog flick - Here's my Top Ten List of Favorite Dog Films:



#10 - Rover Dangerfield (1991) Offbeat animated tale of Rodney Dangerfield in dog form! He still gets no respect as a dog either. This cartoon movie, which went direct to video, is appropriate for the kids but has plenty of trademark Dangerfield comedy to keep anyone entertained.


#9 - Oh! Heavenly Dog (1980) Get this, for what is possibly one of the greatest ideas in movie history: Chevy Chase is a detective who gets murdered, he goes to Heaven and is given a chance to solve his own murder and is sent back to Earth as a dog - played by Benji. It's brilliant, I tell you!


#8 - Turner & Hooch (1989) This is one of the old Tom Hanks' last roles before he became Mr. Hollywood "I Only Do Mega-Blockbusters" Hanks. Here, pre-AIDS and Gump Hanks is a cop who gets charged with protecting a big mean bull dog who is a witness to a murder. Comedy gold, my friends. Not to mention a great supporting performance by a one Mr. Craig T. Nelson.


#7 - Snoopy Come Home (1972) Most of the time Snoopy is just like one of the kids, but other times his role is that of a traditional dog. In this second Peanuts big screen outing, Snoopy leaves Charlie Brown in search of his original owner who is now sick in a hospital. It features music from Disney's legendary Sherman Brothers including the catchy number "No Dogs Allowed".


#6 - Look Who's Talking Now (1993) So they made two of these movies with the babies talking and then they go for the third and have the dogs talking. They uninspiredly cast the dogs voices as Danny DeVito and Diane Keaton...really...that's the best you could do? You know what...it works. I don't know why I like this movie but it works for me. Just like Tom Hanks from earlier in my list, John Travolta wouldn't be caught dead doing this kind of movie now.


#5 - Beethoven (1992) I remember when the trailer for this movie first came out and I was like "WHAT!? Are you serious!? A dog that's really big is the basis of a movie!?" I stayed away from this one for a while and then I popped it one day when working at a video store and laughed my butt off. There's some good stuff in this picture. Big dogs are funny!


#4 - Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) This is from the "animals don't need to move their mouths to speak to one another" school of dog films. Here, two dogs and a cat get lost in the wilderness and have to find their way home. You might as well stab me in the heart with a rusty trident, the end of this flick gets me in the soft spot every time. I cry like a three year old girl who's just lost her dolly.

#3 - The Shaggy D.A. (1976) Bob Howdy, I love this movie. This is a sequel to the Disney classic The Shaggy Dog, but here we've got Dean Jones running for district attorney and wouldn't ya know it - he keeps turning into a dog at all the wrong times. Throw in Tim Conway as the neighborhood ice cream man and you've got solid comedy!

#2 - Lady and the Tramp (1955) Pure Disney classic animation. If you don't like this movie there's no hope for you!

#1 - C.H.O.M.P.S (1979) Robot dogs! Seriously, need I say more!? This inventor guy creates the ultimate home security system in the form of a robotic dog. So many great people are in this movie like Red Buttons and Mr. Drummond from Different Strokes. This was also the only live-action theatrical film produced by Hanna-Barbera. So you know it's gotta be special. When I was younger I easily watched this movie over 100 times!

What's For Lunch? 10/08

Here's our monthly list of items from the local school district's cafeteria menu that one might consider odd, weird or just plain ...what?

• Sunflower Seeds
• Pizza Wedge
• Egg Sandwich
• Egg Item Biscuit - yum!

Hopefully NOT Coming Soon

Somebody Stole My Destiny

As silly as it sounds, I've always imagined that I'd someday, somehow end up in Hollywood making movies and television and my one greatest contribution to the world of entertainment...my classic...the film I would be best remembered for is my live-action Yogi Bear movie. My Yogi Bear epic would be filmed entirely indoors with a giant two dimensional forest being constructed on one of Hollywood's mid-sized sound stages. My cast would include none other than my favorite actor, Stuart Pankin, in the role of Ranger Smith along with several big name stars in supporting roles. What would make my Yogi Bear vision a true masterpiece would be that Yogi Bear (and the other talking animal characters) would be portrayed by actors in costumes. And not some state-of-the-art realistic looking costume with a mechanical head that is capable of making 47 different facial expressions, my Yogi Bear movie would employ the same kind of costumes that you'd find at an amusement park or better yet, on any 1970's live-action kids show. Needless to say, this film would be a masterpiece and a huge hit.

And now, my dreams are shattered as Warner Bros. announced today that they are moving forward with a Yogi Bear feature film. Here's the newswire report:

Yogi, Boo-Boo ready for their close-ups By Steven Zeitchik
Thu Oct 2, 8:46 AM ET

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Warner Bros. is taking a trip to Jellystone Park.

The studio is developing a feature version of "Yogi Bear," the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon. "Surf's Up" co-helmer/co-writer Ash Brannon will direct the film.

Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia, who executive produced "That '70s Show" and are writing the feature "Tooth Fairy" for Fox, are penning the screenplay.

The project, culled from Warners' vast library, is planned as a live-action/animated hybrid along the lines of Fox's 2007 hit "Alvin & the Chipmunks." Much of the movie will be live action, but Yogi Bear and sidekick Boo Boo will be done in CG animation.

Yogi Bear first appeared as a supporting character in 1958 in another classic cartoon, "The Huckleberry Hound Show." In 1961, he got his own show, which has aired in reruns frequently over the past half-century.

Yogi's exploits take place in Jellystone Park, where he and Boo Boo get into good-natured mischief and must elude their nemesis, Ranger Smith.

Brannon has worked on such Pixar hits as "Toy Story 2" and "A Bug's Life."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter


I haven't had any phone calls yet asking me to participate in the film...but I guess it's early still!

Yeah, I Made It

The problem with me cooking dinner is that I'm so proud of my accomplish- ment that I have to show it off to everybody. Last night, I whipped up this tasty little number for the family: a little creation of mine called Honey Kissed Black Pepper Mesquite Chicken with a side of Corn & Pepper Orzo...made from scratch, thank you very much!

The chicken I simply marinated in a mesquite grilling sauce but then when I went to dash on a little pepper I unscrewed the cap to the pepper instead of using the sprinkle top with the holes and I ended up dumping about a half of cup worth of pepper all over the marinated chicken. I tried to scrape off the pepper but it was on there pretty good. I decided to cover up/off-set the pepper explosion by adding some honey to the recipe. In the end, it tasted good but the pepper was strong. We polished off a whole pitcher of beverage while eating it.

The Corn & Pepper Orzo I made from scratch using a recipe from Taste of Home magazine. I don't usually make things like that but the picture in the magazine looked good and there were no hard steps or unusual ingredients. Basically, I chopped up an onion and a red pepper, sauteed them up with some corn, threw in the orzo and a few spices...we were good to go! Good Eats!

Ten Movies I've Always Wanted To See

I got this idea from another blog and an e-mail that is going around...

Here's a list of ten movies that I've wanted to see for quite some time and for one reason or another I have yet to manage sitting down and watching them. With movie channels, video stores, Netflix and the internet - there's really no good reason why I haven't been able to catch some of these flicks in the past decade or so.



Citizen Kane (1941) It's considered in most circles to be the greatest American movie of all time. Although I usually prefer movies with talking animals, I really would like to catch Orson Welles' masterpiece about newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane. I guess with no talking cats or musical numbers I've never really been propelled to make the time to watch it.


High Noon (1952) I loves me a good western and this Gary Cooper classic is supposed to be one of the best. I've rented the video before and I've even TiVo'ed it off Turner Classic Movies a couple of times and yet I can't seem to watch it before the video is due back or my TiVo bumps it off in favor of a Simple Life rerun.


Godzilla (1954) The sad thing is I've seen tons of Japanese giant monster movies but I've never seen the grandaddy of all. I've seen Mothra and Ghidorah the three- headed monster. Recently, I saw one with a giant radioactive turtle that was pretty good. Hey, I even saw Godzilla 2000 in the theatre! I once bought the VHS of Godzilla, never watched it, and then gave it to someone when I moved once. Netflix doesn't have a copy but I found one at a video store that I plan on renting soon...I think the kids will like it.


Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) I really do wanna see this one. I'm a big fan of director Blake Edwards, having seen all The Pink Panther films plus he directed one of my all-time favorite movies Blind Date. Tiffany's is the big classic that really put Edwards on the map. I guess I just forget about this one and haven't made an attempt to get a copy and watch it. But I do have it on my Netflix queue...somewhere in the upper 100's, but I'll get to it one day!

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) This comedy classic has about 50 big-time movie stars all making a mad dash to find a hidden stash of stolen money. It's been copied a bunch of times - Scavenger Hunt, Million Dollar Mystery, Rat Race - and I've loved them all. I'm sure the biggest reason I've never seen ...Mad, Mad World is the running time. There are few different cuts of the film floating around out there, but for the most part the movie clocks in at over three hours long. I haven't been able to stay awake for three hours at a time since I was 15 years old. I guess I could watch it over two or three nights but I don't roll like that!

The Birds (1963) What's wrong with me that I haven't seen one of Hitchcock's most popular movies!? I love Alfred Hitchcock and have truly seen most of his films. I even been fortunate enough to have seen most of them for the first time in a theatre. But The Birds has always escaped me. I'm not proud to say that I've even seen the horrible 1994 made-for-Showtime movie The Birds II: Land's End. Alfred is rolling over in his grave.

The Three Lives of Thomasina (1964) Never heard of it? It's a Disney movie about the kids from Mary Poppins and they get a cat. Why is it on my list? My grandmother gave me a bunch of Disney videos way back in 1992. I still have all the videos she gave me, but I've never watched this one. All I have to do is reach over to my shelf of Disney videos, grab it and pop it in yet I've never done it. Some day, Thomasina. Some day.

A Hard Day's Night (1964) One of my all-time favorite movies is Spice World, which is a fictional account of a week in the life of the Spice Girls before a big concert. This Beatles movie follows a fictional day in the life of the Fab Four before a big concert. I've read many times that Hard Day's Night was the inspiration for the Spice Girls film and it's been on my radar for quite sometime but like all the others here...I just haven't gotten around to seeing it.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Actually, I haven't ALWAYS wanted to see this movie. I didn't even know Indiana Jones was "a thing" until high school when the third movie came out and everybody went crazy about it. I took my son to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull this summer and we had a good time. Seeing as how my little film buff protege is obsessed with all things Indiana Jones, I'm sure it won't be long until I finally see this 27-year old modern classic.

Porky's II: The Next Day (1983) T&A comedies are one of my favorite genres. I've seen a million of them. Not because I'm a perv, but because they're all dumb and silly and that's what I'm usually in the mood for when I watch a movie. I've seen countless rip-off's of Porky's yet I've only seen actual Porky's once and I've never made it to this sequel. If I ever see it, I can replace it on my list with 1985's Porky's Revenge.

Make a list of movie's you've always wanted to see. (It doesn't have to add up to 10) Leave it in our comment box, e-mail us, or post it on your own web. Good times!

New Beds For Everyone

This weekend was Operation: Bunkbed. We bought a set of bunkbeds from somebody at Jen's work. We hardly ever use Tanner's room and the kids were really excited about the idea of a bunkbed so we figured this might be a step in the right direction as far getting the most out of the space in our home. We need some office/grown up space in our house, so maybe soon we can eliminate Tanner's bedroom and then have a playroom and a separate office space.

Saturday we borrowed a truck from my in-laws and picked up the bed which had been taken apart. On the way back home we also had to stop and buy two new mattresses. The people we bought the bed from did a real nice job of keeping track of which piece went where and with that screws and bolts and drew us several diagrams and directions on how the bed should be put back together. Of course, without the actual instruction booklet I was a little bit on my own as far as where to start and what to do next but within two hours I had the bed together and ready for the approval of the little ones.

There was some fighting over who was going to get the top bunk, but international laws state that in a situation like that the older sibling gets first choice. So, Elias is on the top and Tanner is on the bottom bunk. Shortly after getting the beds put together, Elias and Tanner were due over at their grandparents house for an evening of Mario Kart Wii with their cousins. After a quiet, child-free diner at a new Italian place nearby, Jen and I ducked into Wal-Mart and dropped a chunk of change outfitting the new beds. The boys were very excited when they got home and found...

...a Batman bed up top for Elias...

...and a cozy Wall-E bed waiting for Tanner underneath.

I'm proud to say the kids took to the idea of bunkbeds real well and they both stayed quiet and went right to sleep. So far, (knock on wood..as it's only 9:30pm as I write this) we've had no problems!

And we should also mention, that after two years and nine months in a crib this was Tanner's first night in a big boy bed!

He's been climbing out of his crib for about a month now so it was time he moved on anyway!

Update: Both the boys slept through the night in their own bed. No problems the whole night, what-so-ever!

First Daze

Yesterday was Tanner's first day of Preschool. It did not go as smoothly as his big brother's first day of school. Tanner pouted in the car on the way to school that he didn't want to go. When we got out of the car at the school parking lot the drama began. Tanner yelled, growled, kicked and screamed...and did not want to have anything to do with school. Once inside the school, he continued the scream and carry on and would not settle down. At first, he was the only child screaming...but as mommies and daddies started to say good bye and leave more and more children started to cry. Eventually we had to just hand Tanner to one of the teachers and make a run for it. We could hear him screaming from outside the classroom. We could also hear him screaming from outside the building in the parking lot. Tanner was plastered against the window like a sad puppy begging for us to turn around and come get him. When we returned to pick him up at the end of his grueling 90 minute school day, he had calmed down. However, he's already let us know that he'll be giving a repeat performance the next day he had to go to school.

Later in the day, we went to the hospital to visit our good friends Andrew and Ping who were resting up after a busy day of welcoming their new baby boy Silas yesterday. The little guy was born Sunday afternoon at around 12:30pm, he weighed 8.5 lbs. and measured 20 inches. He's very adorable and just a teeny tiny little thing. We made sure he got his Disney education started early, and Mickey and Silas are all ready good buddies!

Congrats Andy and Ping!

He's Listening!

Elias brings home a paper from school every Friday with a list of things his class did that week and a list of things that each child should know. I was delightfully surprised when I asked Elias about these things and he was able to remember everything he learned at school this week!

Does Anyone Still Smoke a Corn Cob Pipe?

My cell phone was ablaze yesterday with text messages and phone calls from friends sharing the news of the passing of Jerry Reed. Known to my friends and I as "Snowman," Jerry Reed was a country singer who also appeared in all three Smokey and the Bandit films. If you ever hung out with my friends and I during our college years, there's a good chance you saw Smokey and the Bandit at least once! Reed played Burt Reynolds sidekick in the first two films and then took over the leading role when Reynolds bowed out of the third film. Seriously, Smokey and the Bandit is easily one of my favorite movies of all time and arguably one of the funniest movies of all time. The Snowman will be missed!

* * *

My kids have never been ones to just fall asleep any old place. If it's not nap time or bed time and they aren't in their bedroom, there's a good chance they'll keep chugging all day long. So, it was very amazing and funny when Tanner decided to konk-out on the floor right inside the front door of the house. Not only did he choose this odd spot on the hardwood floor but he was out cold for an hour and a half! He was a bit disoriented when he woke up though.

And...feast your eyes on these bad boys:


We were huge fans of the mini-burger appetizers at Cheeseburger in Paradise. Since our local CiP closed it's door a few months back, we're tried the "Sliders" craze at other restaurants but we haven't found any that really hit the spot the way Cheeseburger in Paradise's did. So I took it upon myself to create our own homemade versions of Sliders. I don't want to brag or anything, but I nailed the taste pretty good. I used frozen mini-Bubba Burgers, I think next time if I used fresh ground beef and seasoned it well before cooking they'd be even better. And I should have used a chopper for the onion instead of hand chopping it. The onion pieces should be smaller. But, in the end it was a good dinner!

What's For Lunch? 9/08

Here's a new feature I hope to repeat at WWoB, it's called What's For Lunch? Each month, the school district sends home the cafeteria menu for the next couple of weeks. Sometimes there are some strange sounding items available on the menu and sometimes I have no idea what the item even is! So here we're going to share some of the unusual, funny sounding, and mysterious food items that the kids in my neighborhood eat for lunch everyday.

• Mustang Sub
• California Blend
• Bosco Sticks w/sauce (you don't want to eat your Bosco Stick plain, do you?)
• Winter Mix

And...on September 10 you can have a Johnnie Rib Sandwich or on the 22nd you could dine on a Johnnie Rib on Roll. Either way, I'm sure it's good!

Beware of Polar Bears

Here's four random things -

• On E! News they were reporting on the story about X-Files star David Duchovny checking himself into rehab for sex addiction. Guess what they named the story about the X-Files star and his sex addiction....? The Sex Files...get it!? Those guys at E! are on top of their game.

• Here's some dialogue from our house this past week: Elias: Tanner, do you know what Sunny D is? Tanner: No. Elias: It's a drink with a sun on the bottle. Me: How do you know what Sunny D is? We've never had it. Elias: I saw a commercial for it. Can we get it? Me: You can drink it if you want but I think it's disgusting. It tastes like orange juice flavored pancake syrup! Elias: I think it's good. You can't resist the power of Sunny D! Me: What!?

•  <this portion of the post was redacted on 5/13/2022>

• From the world of Star Wars: Why does a Battle Droid need a walkie-talkie? They're robots, shouldn't they just have had the radio built into them!?

Barbie Does Wilma

O.K...first of all, the only reason I get Barbie Collector in the mail is because at some point I signed up to get all of Mattel's catalogs. But instead of sending me the Hot Wheel's magazine or their general toy book I get Barbie Collector and the Little People Catalog! That being said, check out these totally sweet Flintstones dolls they've got out! Barbie sporting Wilma and Betty's fashionable prehistoric look. They pretty much nailed the detail too. Both Wilma and Betty's dress are pretty much the same as they appeared on the tv show. The only difference is the skirt and the mink around their shoulders (which I would bet could be removed.) They've even got their hair and jewelry down right. Good Show, Barbie!

Then they've also got Kelly and Tommy dressed up as Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm. First question here is, What's a Kelly and Tommy. Without a TV show or a movie, how am I supposed to know who Kelly and Tommy are? I guess maybe a 5 year old girl knows!?! These little dolls are also fairly accurate as well.

You know these dolls are for adult collectors because anyone in the Barbie demographic has no idea what the Flintstones are. Still, for only $45 bucks for the Wilma and Betty that's a pretty affordable collectible for a grown-up Flintstone or Barbie collector.

My only dilemma: do I display them next to my Flintstones stuff or next to my Spice Girls dolls?

Happy Birthday Elias!

Today is Elias' birthday! It was five years ago today that I became a daddy. And tomorrow morning, Elias will get on a school bus and begin his education. I felt old the first time I drove him to preschool, but watching him get on a bus and go off on his own is a little bit scary.

Anyhow, Elias celebrated his birthday be receiving tons of Star Wars toys as well as his two other "favorites of the moment" Indiana Jones and Sonic the Hedgehog.

I've got pictures of the birthday boy and all the festivities up at Flickr and Facebook.

Build-a-Hero

Elias likes to make up his own superheroes and villains. Here's a recent creation of his he calls "Luke Skywalker in Disguise". It's made up of a Superman cape, Batman mask, a cowboy gun, and a magic top hat. So if you have all that stuff lying around your house, you too can play Luke Skywalker in disguise!

More Than Meets The Eye!? No...it's just waffles

This one is dedicated to "Brian in CA". The fine folks at Eggo, the leader in food dye illustrations are at it again with new Transformers Animated waffles. These breakfast goodies feature the likeness of the transforming robots in their new cartoon series. Sometimes you get a picture of one of the Transformers, other times you might just get the word "Bumblebee" printed on your waffle. Either way, it's good eats!? Right!







The Transformer Eggos have replaced the earlier "Kung Fu Panda" waffles which was an easier transformation for my kids then the Hot Wheels to Barbie Eggo change that happened earlier this year!

Back From The Beach

We're back from an extended stay at Ocean City, MD. We all had a great time. We actually made it to the beach this year, unlike last year when it was too cold! We hit up the pool a dozen or so times, we did some rides, played some golf, and of course had some good eats! I'm planning on writing up an in-depth food review in the next few days, so stay tuned for that.

The kids loved playing golf, and they loved talking us into going to Candy Kitchen every chance they got...but the real highlight of the trip for them was winning Sonic the Hedgehog plush characters at a midway game. They've become quite enamored with Sonic over the last couple of weeks.

If you've got Facebook, you can check out my photo album of the trip there, and I'll get some pictures up on Flickr soon too!

Sorry, Folks!

Not that this will impact your life in the least bit, but Wonderful World of Blog will be closed for two weeks. Check back 8/8/08!

We've Lost a Golden Girl

Estelle Getty of 'Golden Girls' dies at 84
By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press Writer


Estelle Getty, the diminutive actress who spent 40 years struggling for success before landing a role of a lifetime in 1985 as the sarcastic octogenarian Sophia on TV's "The Golden Girls," has died. She was 84.

Getty, who suffered from advanced dementia, died at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday at her Hollywood Boulevard home, said her son, Carl Gettleman of Santa Monica.

"Estelle always wanted to be an actress, and she achieved that goal beyond her dreams," former "Golden Girls" co-star Rue McClanahan told The Associated Press. "Don't feel sad about her passing. She will always be with us in her crowning achievement, Sophia."

"The Golden Girls," featuring four female retirees sharing a house in Miami, grew out of NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff's belief that television was ignoring its older viewers.

Three of its stars had already appeared in previous series: Bea Arthur in "Maude," Betty White in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and McClanahan in "Mama's Family." The last character to be cast was Sophia Petrillo, the feisty 80-something mother of Arthur's character.

"Our mother-daughter relationship was one of the greatest comic duos ever, and I will miss her," Arthur said in a statement.

When she auditioned, Getty was appearing on stage in Hollywood as the carping Jewish mother in Harvey Fierstein's play "Torch Song Trilogy." In her early 60s, she flunked her "Golden Girls" test twice because it was believed she didn't look old enough to play 80.

"I could understand that," she told an interviewer a year after the show debuted. "I walk fast, I move fast, I talk fast."

She came prepared for the third audition, however, wearing dowdy clothes and telling an NBC makeup artist, "To you this is just a job. To me it's my entire career down the toilet unless you make me look 80." The artist did, Getty got the job and won two Emmys.

"The only comfort at this moment is that although Estelle has moved on, Sophia will always be with us," White said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

"The Golden Girls" culminated a long struggle for success during which Getty worked low-paying office jobs to help support her family while she tried to make it as a stage actress.

"I knew I could be seduced by success in another field, so I'd say, 'Don't promote me, please,'" she recalled.

She also appeared in small parts in a handful of films and TV movies during that time, including "Tootsie," "Deadly Force" and "Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story."

After her success in "The Golden Girls," other roles came her way. She played Cher's mother in "Mask," Sylvester Stallone's in "Stop or My Mom Will Shoot" and Barry Manilow's in the TV film "Copacabana." Other credits included "Mannequin" and "Stuart Little" (as the voice of Grandma Estelle).

"The Golden Girls," which ran from 1985 to 1992, was an immediate hit, and Sophia, who began as a minor character, soon evolved into a major one.

Audiences particularly loved the verbal zingers Getty would hurl at the other three. When McClanahan's libidinous character Blanche once complained that her life was an open book, Sophia shot back, "Your life's an open blouse."

"I always told her she should be a standup comic. She was so funny in person," McClanahan recalled. "She would always say, 'Why couldn't we make these characters Jewish? Why am I Sicilian?'"

Getty had gained a knack for one-liners in her late teens when she did standup comedy at a Catskills hotel. Female comedians were rare in those days, however, and she bombed.

Undeterred, she continued to pursue a career in entertainment, and while her parents were encouraging, her father also insisted that she learn office skills so she would have something to fall back on.

Born Estelle Scher to Polish immigrants in New York, Getty fell in love with theater when she saw a vaudeville show at age 4.

She married New York businessman Arthur Gettleman (the source of her stage name) in 1947, and they had two sons, Carl and Barry. The marriage prevailed despite her long absences on the road and in "The Golden Girls."

Getty was evasive about her height, acknowledging only that she was "under 5 feet and under 100 pounds."

McClanahan said her nickname for Getty was "Slats."

"Because she was so short, itty-bitty," she said.

In addition to her son Carl, Getty is survived by son Barry Gettleman, of Miami; a brother, David Scher of London; and a sister, Rosilyn Howard of Las Vegas.

___

Associated Press Writers Robert Jablon and Solvej Schou contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Behold The Metal

Check this out! At Wal-Mart they have actual metal lunch boxes for sale amongst all the other back-to-school goodies! It's been a while since good old fashioned metal lunch boxes have been for sale. Sure, they've been making those little lunch boxes filled with candy but these here are actual working lunch boxes. They are just about the same size as the original ones from back in the day. They don't come with a thermos anymore because kids all take juice boxes to school now. But, it's just great that metal lunch boxes are making a reappearance on shelves! In addition to Spider-Man and Hulk, Wal-Mart was also rocking Tinker Bell, Hannah Montana, and High School Musical. I guess I should ask if they have any Gremlins or Flintstones boxes in the back!?!

For more fun also read:My Deal Ol' Lunch Boxes from June 12, 2006.

Old Burger King Logo

Here's how lame I am...yesterday while at a Burger King in Mt. Airy, Md I was delighted to find the umbrellas near the kids play area branded with the old Burger King font. The sign on top of the building is also still sporting the older round font. I then spent the next 20 minutes ignoring my kids on the playground and noting the subtle differences between the font in the new BK logo vs. the old way of writing it. Kinda sad...ain't I!?!



original logo... (older than the one above)
current logo...