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!

Restaurant Review #2: The Apple Pan

Like a great baseball pitcher, I hate to show off my best pitches so early in the game.   If I give you all my best restaurants so early in my blogging, I'll have nothing to write about later.  But I would hate to be hit by a bus and have left this planet without blogging about one of my favorite restaurants of all time, the Apple Pan.

The Apple Pan has been in business since 1947, and constantly rates as among the best burgers in Los Angeles.   In my humble opinion, it is the best.   It consists of a U-shaped counter the surrounds the cooking area, and that's it.   Not tables, no booths, so be prepared to sit at the counter 'cause that is all there is.   If there are no seats available, you'll need to wait.   Take note of the other people waiting for spots, so you know when it's your turn to nab the next available seats.   There are unwritten rules of etiquette here, and it's downright unsportsmanlike for you to grab seats before your turn.  Believe me, I've tried.  I don't think "Unsportsmanlike" was exactly the phrase the guy used as he threw me through onto Pico Blvd., but who can hear with salt shakers stuffed in each ear?

The restaurant has changed little in the last 60-some years, and that includes the waiters.   They may seem grumpy at first, but give them time, they will grow on you.   It's exactly what you'd expect at a 1940's lunch counter, and fits into the atmosphere perfectly.

The menu is small...  burgers, a few sandwiches, pies and drinks.   It's easy to order.   First of all, forget the sandwiches entirely.   I have heard great things about them, but that's not why you are here.   You're here for a burger, darn it.   I, personally, prefer the Hickory burger, which is served dripping with a red hickory sauce that's both sweet, tangy and a perfect compliment to the Tillamook cheese.  The lettuce is crispy, the bun is toasted, and I think I have started to drool.  More than normal, I mean.

This is a no-frills place.   The burger is served wrapped in paper.  Sodas are served in cans and bottles, with cone-style cups placed in metal holders.  These holders were eliminated at one point, as the restaurant couldn't find a supplier to replace the ones that had worn out (read: stolen) throughout the years.   Fortunately, replacements were located, and and the cups returned.

Now for dessert...   At a place called the Apple Pan, one would think you should have the apple pie.   Yeah, yeah, the apple pie is great, everyone loves it, highly rated, yadda-yadda-yadda...   But to quote the race track tout on the old Jack Benny Show (now THERE is a reach)...  "psst, hey, bud, take the banana cream pie."  Huge chunks of banana are in a delicious banana filling, placed in a perfect crust and topped with a cream topping....   The best banana cream pie ever.   EVER.   In the history of banana cream pies, this is the pie that everything else was building up to.  My lunch partner, upon finding out the last piece of pie was just sold, was ready to walk over to the guest who ordered it and offer them $20 for the slice.   True story.  I talked her out of it, but I'm not sure I made the right decision.  Remind me to tell you about the time she spent $20 on a dozen Krispy Kream donuts.   And don't get me started on the Piggley-Wiggley fries story.   That one is for a later blog.

They are open until midnight on weekdays and 1 AM on weekends, closed Mondays.  They only accept cash, so be ready to pay cash (after finishing my meal, I had to run across the street to an ATM to pay my bill.   The waiter only kept my watch as collateral.  I think he was joking, but don't ask me what time it is).  Be sure to stop by when you are out that way, and make sure you invite me.....

Lake Buena Vista

My first trip to Walt Disney World was with the Walt Disney Travel Company on one of the Disneyland cast member trips.   In those early days, you were sure of two things:  You were going to have a great time, and you were going to be staying at the Club Lake Villas.  I am very nostalgic for these old mini-condos that used to wrap around the lake next to the Walt Disney World Village, and was sorry when they finally closed down to make room for the Disney Institute (which then closed down to make room for the Saratoga Springs Resort...).      They had a charm that won't be replicated anytime soon, as WDW grows bigger and bigger.
For a GREAT series of articles about the walt Disney World Villas, follow this link.   For those of you who stayed there, the pictures alone will make you wish you could go back...
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Symphony in Slang

Here's one of my favorite cartoons of all time:   a 1951 classic by the legendary Tex Avery for MGM.  Tex said the front office hated cartoons like this, so he had to force them through...  They'd hit the deadlines and say, "OK, this is the only story we have, we either make this cartoon or we fall behind schedule!"  The animation is stylized and limited, a growing trend in animation in the 50's.   Enjoy!


MGM Cartoon "Symphony in Slang" (1951) by 100X

NoJo Potatoes

I've lost my Mojo. Potatoes.
I've always been a big fan of Shakey's Bunch a Lunch.  It's not the wonderful atmosphere, the great service or the appetizing food that brings me there.   It is just one thing that draws me to Shakey's, and this is it:

MMMMMM...   Shakey's World Famous Mojo Potatoes.   The nectar of the spuds.   Cut up potatoes dusted with seasonings (possibly the chicken seasoning; websites argue the exact recipe) then deep fried.  I don't think I have ever left the Bunch-a-Lunch grazing area without a few of these nestled on my plate, and occasionally in my pockets.   I've ruined more pants this way.
So, I go into Shakey's today, speed past the salad area (no one should get salad at a buffet; it is just filler that they hope you will fill up on before you get to the high-ticket items) and head to my beloved potatoes.   I get there, I look....  and something looks dreadfully wrong.   Sure, they look kinda like mojo potatoes, and the P-touch label above the pan says they are mojo potatoes, but...  something just ain't Kosher (besides, I assume, the entire meal).   I take some potatoes with apprehension and sit down at my booth. 
THEY AREN'T RIGHT.   I took another bite to be sure I tasted right.   And it just ain't right.   And then it hit me:   THESE AREN'T DEEP FRIED!   These are BAKED!   BAKED mojo potatoes!!!   Curse those health-food advocates, they have gotten to another one of my favorite foods!   I can only assume that, in response to the recent attacks on fried foods and trans-fat oils, they decided to start baking the mojo potatoes, assuming nobody would notice the difference....  except, of course, that everyone would suddenly feel so much healthier after eating them.
I have a bit of news for Shakey's:   People who eat at Bunch-a-Lunch are not all that concerned with eating healthy.  Practically by definition.   I looked around the restaurant, just to be sure, and I didn't see one person who looked like they'd be hitting the gym after this meal.  Not a one, and that included the people working there and one guy who was refilling the claw machine. 
This is just another example of the health food advocates ruining food that the Founding Fathers worked to assure were the right of all Americans.   Now that the advocates have ruined mojo potatoes, what's next?   Low fat Twinkies?   Oh, wait, they make those already.   Fat Free pop tarts?   Oh, wait, they make those, too.  The point is, if you are trying to eat healthy, shouldn't you be avoiding potatoes and Twinkies entirely, instead of eating some pseudo version of it?
All I know is, mojo potatoes now join the ranks of "Foods that disappear because Joe loves it."  This includes Delaware Punch, Quisp cereal, Fizzers candy and other items that I may write about in future blogs.   Now, if you'll excuse me, I suddenly have a craving for a pop tart....