Saturday Morning Cartoon: Animaniacs - Chairman of the Bored

One of my favorite TV cartoons of all time was the Animaniacs.  Great writing, above-average animation and great characters came together to create one of the best, laugh-out loud cartoon shows on television.   Sure, it wan't perfect....   sometimes the animation was sub-par, some of the segments weren't so great (Mindy and Buttons pops to mind) and near the end they got too self-conscious, but in their prime, this was the show to watch.   Posted here is one of my favorites.   It's not typical of the Warner's cartoons, but great just the same.   Enjoy Chairman of the Bored...

Vezi mai multe peTeava.ro

The return of the Honda!

For those of you who were trying to make sense of my last post, that is a scene from the classic motion picture, "Lassie Come-Home"  I posted that picture because, much like that courageous collie that climbs mountains, forges streams and dodges rush-hour traffic to make it back to his family, my car has come home!

I had assumed that by now, my car had been chopped up into little auto parts and sold piecemeal.   I was making plans to buy my next car (I had heard that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was on the market) when I received a call from the LA Sheriffs:   My car had been recovered!  I was told I could go pick it up at a towing yard in Walnut.  On the way there, I prepared myself for what it might look like, asking myself the questions:   Is it stripped completely?   Was it involved in an accident?   Was it used in the commission of a bank robbery?   Can I get fries with that?   (sorry, it was lunchtime and I was hungry)   I eventually got to the towing yard, paid the fees, and walked into the yard to see my car, parked in the far corner of the lot.

We stopped, I looked...

This would be a good time to describe how my first stolen car looked once it was found.   My first car, a 1986 Honda Civic, was stolen in 1997 and stripped for parts.   Once the thieves removed everything of value from the car, they set the car on fire.   Here are a few pictures of that car in the impound lot:

So, understand why my hopes where not too high.  Eleven days is more than enough time to strip a car.   However, amazingly - my car got off relatively unscathed!  The thieves stole the car stereo, the battery, a tank of gas and a few CD's (they took the Disney CD's but left the Best of Mel Blanc behind), then left the car on a residential street.   They rummaged through the glove compartments, but never bothered to open the trunk, where a few things of actual value  would have been found.  There are a few things not working right (the horn and the gear shift) but the car runs as it did before.  These items are currently being repaired by my insurance company, and soon things will return to normal.

Oh, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang sold.    I didn't win the auction; my $12 bid being a little too low.   Well, you can't win them all.

Upcoming attractions

Sorry, folks, it's been a very busy few days.   I have some things to update you on, but I want to have the time to do them right.   However, here's a hint to upcoming attractions:

Recognize the picture from a classic motion picture?   If so, you may be able to figure out what has transpired in the last several hours.   Stay tuned!

Saturday Morning cartoon: The Critic

Once again, it's time for your Saturday Morning Cartoon!  Here's the 1963 Academy Award winner for best animated film, an obscure little gem featuring Mel Brooks.  This is the YouTube version; for a more high-quality version follow this link.

The Great Honda Heist Update

So far, there is nothing to report.   But since people have been asking, I thought I should post something.  I am currently driving around a rented Toyota until I hear news from the police, or 30 days elapses, whichever comes first.   Look for my tailpipe in auto part stores everywhere!   (I mean my CAR'S tailpipe...   don't be crude.)

The Great Honda Heist

Don't you hate it when things aren't where you left them?   I had that feeling Sunday morning.   I went out to where I thought I had left my car, reached for the car door...  but there was no door.   Someone had stolen my car door.  Along with the entire car.
Yep, my car was stolen.   This is the second time I have lost a car to theft.   Recent statistics say that you have a one in 207 chance of getting your car stolen.   Why can't my odds be so good in Vegas?   There, I never win.   But when it comes to car theft, I am way ahead of the odds.   The day Vegas invents a "Grand Auto Theft" slot machine, I will be first in line.
Another statistic: a car is stolen every 26 seconds in the United States.   In less than one minute, I have lost two cars.  Yeah, I know, but that makes sense to ME.  I can be unreasonable, darn it, I am a CRIME VICTIM.
The car I lost this time was a 1997 Honda Accord.  According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a Honda Accord was the most-stolen car of 2009.   The number two most-stolen car is a Honda Civic.   Guess what kind of car I had stolen the first time...
I like Hondas.   I like the fact that they will continue to run as long as you take good car of mine.   This is the second Honda I bought new, planning to keep it until it was unrepairable.   I wanted to see how many miles I could log on a Honda before it gets to that point.   However, I will never find the answer because the test subject keeps disappearing in mid-experiment.   I'm reminded of the kid in the tootsie roll pop commercial who is trying to figure out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop.   He never finds out, as everyone bites the pop in mid-experiment.   I envy that kid.  For the record, I had 290,000 miles on this car.  So, the answer to my experiment is "more than that."

If anything, I figure I can get a few good blogs out of this.   Stay tuned, and I will update you on any progress the police make in recovering my vehicle.   If I have time, I will try and locate the pictures I took of my first stolen car once it was recovered.   They actually could have mailed it to me.   Or slipped it under the door.
Oh, for the record, here is the NICB 2009 list of most-stolen cars:

1. 1994 Honda Accord
2. 1995 Honda Civic
3. 1991 Toyota Camry
4. 1997 Ford F-150 pickup
5. 2004 Dodge Ram pickup
6. 2000 Dodge Caravan
7. 1994 Chevrolet pickup (Full Size)
8. 1994 Acura Integra
9. 2002 Ford Explorer
10. 2009 Toyota Corolla

Or, if you want the list of NEW cars, follow this link to a Consumer Reports list.

Saturday Morning Cartoon: The Great Piggy Bank Robbery

It's once again Cartoon Saturday!  I'm surprised it's taken me this long to post a Warner Bros. cartoon, But here is one of my all-time favorites:  "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery" directed by Bob Clampett and released in 1946.  It was one of the last cartoons made by Clampett before he left Warner Bros., and one of his best.  Clampett eventually moved into early television with his puppet characters Beany and Cecil.  Enjoy!