Just an Observation...

I don't usually get too political here, but....

Everyone I know is upset over the fact that Lindsey Lohan received a 30-day jail sentence and only served 5 hours of it due to overcrowding.   They feel it smacks of preferential treatment.

I am more worried that she didn't get preferential treatment.   This may actually be the way we are treating prisoners in California...

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Gerald McBoing Boing

From Columbia Pictures and the UPA studios comes the 1950 Academy Award Winner, Gerald McBoing Boing.   This cartoon was based on a short story written by Dr. Seuss for a Capital record album.   UPA adapted the story for the screen, and the success of this cartoon set UPA as the new, groundbreaking studio of the 1950's.   A classic cartoon and one of my all-time favorites.

Halloween - the aftermath

This year, I had a total of eight trick-or treaters. This includes two adults with no costumes that had tagged along with their kids. These two got "Smarties" because they obviously need some.
I now have a full bag of Twix bars and 2/3 of a bag of Kit-Kat bars. I'll let you know when these are gone.

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Broomstick Bunny

Here's one to celebrate Halloween:  Chuck Jones's 1956 short Broomstick Bunny.   Not a great cartoon by any means, but hey, it's timely...

Halloween do's and don'ts...

Every year about this time, I am asked by several friends and relatives about what treats are appropriate to give to the kids who come to your door on Halloween.   Being an expert on this subject, I decided to post the answer here.   That way, I will have...   oh, about two less people ask me this year, judging by my readership. 

Halloween Treats Do's and Don'ts:

Homemade cookies: DON'T.   Let's be honest, the people in your neighborhood don't trust you.  Anything that you give them that is not clearly sealed by some factory worker in Mexico is immediately thrown in the trash.   That goes for the Christmas cookies you bake them every year as well.  Why go through the trouble?   Go buy something and stimulate the economy.  Besides, I've tasted your cookies... 
Tootsie Rolls:  DO.   But do them a favor and give out the fruit flavored ones.   They only come out once a year and taste better than the regular flavored ones.   What is the original flavor of Tootsie Rolls supposed to be anyways?   It's kinda like chocolate and yet it isn't. 
Candy Corn:  DON'T.   This is one of the few candies where the actual organic food tastes better than its candy counterpart.   I'd prefer you put a ear of corn in my bag than a bag of candy corn.
Twix Bars:  DO.   Just because I like them.   And you may give me the leftovers.
Any Candy With Wax Features:  DON'T.   What, do you think you are going to get trick-or-treaters from the 1930's?  Wax is not candy, it is WAX.   So, no wax lips, no wax fangs, no Nik-L-Nips...  none of that.   Keep the wax in your pumpkin where it belongs.
Candy Necklaces: DO.  Wow, candy you can wear!  Can it get any better than that?  Just turn your head and eat!   Best of all, it travels very little.   You wear it on your neck at the beginning of the night and wear it on your waist at the end of the night.
Money:  DO, but it better be more than nickles and pennies, bud.  Have you priced a candy bar lately?  Five bucks per person is appropriate.   Please send me your address if you decide on this option.
Fruit:  DON'T.   We are not in Victorian England, so do not give out apples and oranges, or you will get the fruit thrown at your front door later that evening.   It's called TRICK or TREAT for a reason, pal.
Mass produced, pre-packaged, recognizable candy are all DO'S.   Please notice that I said mass produced and recognizable.   Chick-O-Stick, Abba Zabba, and Bit O'Honey do NOT meet these standards.   Meanwhile, Smarties and Dum-dums do meet these qualifications, but please, how cheap do you really want to look to your friends and neighbors?   Give out a candy that actually look like you give a darn.  Bubble gum is out, or you'll step in it in the morning. 
Last big DON'T:   nothing flavored butterscotch.  And please, no button candy.  You might as well just feed them paper.

One last piece of advice:  Have a stock of those Harry Potter Jelly Beans on hand.... the ones that come in flavors like mud, grass, pepper etc.  These are the treats you give to anyone over the age of 15 .   This includes parents with an infant in their arms.   New Flash: They are not collecting for the kid.

Happy Halloween!

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Here Comes the Grump!

Here's one of my all-time favorite Saturday morning cartoon shows:  Here Comes the Grump, produced in 1969 by Depatie-Freleng and broadcast on NBC.  The show must have cost quite a bit, as every episode required new characters, new settings, etc., as Princess Dawn and Terry visited new lands every episode in their pursuit of the Crystal Key.  Dave Depatie and Friz Freleng based the Grump on Yosemite Sam from the cartoon "Knighty Knight Bugs"  which Freleng directed while at Warner Bros.   Odd Fact:   Yosemite Sam was originally based on Friz Freleng himself.  Here is the title sequence, with a theme song I was still singing years after the show went off the air:



This is probably the best episode of the bunch....   And I am proud to say that I actually own the  "Cheese Mountain" background painting from this episode!   It's the Blabbermouth of Echo Island:



Here's The Grand Slam of Door City...



And the end credits...

Cartoon Saturday: Three Little Bops

Here's a favorite of mine from Warner Bros.:   Three Little Bops, released in 1957 and directed by Friz Freleng.  A great cartoon from Warner's later period, and one of the few with no voices by Mel Blanc.



If you haven't had enough yet, here's a version done live at the Blackstump Festival in Australia in 1993, performed by the Belvedere Blues Band: