Puzzles!

Howdy folks. Boy am I ever a sleepy puppy. Got myself stuck on a couple of morning shifts this and all of next week. To top it off the weather has been straight rain for hours making a perfect day for napping. Still; I told myself there would be an update and an update there shall be! If I don't pass out halfwa.........

Anyhow. This past weekend hosted an 80's party for my sister-in-law. Not a huge affair but a good enough excuse for wearing asymmetrical neon glasses and thundercats shirts. Now I try to abide by a rule of getting people something for their birthday, no matter the circumstances. In this case I hadn't put much thought into a proper gift so instead of being late, I grabbed some placeholders from the thrift stores.

Jigsaw puzzles. Never enjoyed them, always felt they were a waste of time, though given my odd assortment of hobbies I'm lacking a strong position to judge. Fact is the SIL among other family members enjoy piecing these things together into the wee hours of the night so I knew I could pull something off in that regard. The stores had most of the usual fare puzzles on display. Nature scene here, city scape there, old painting over that way. As luck would have it, a few companies have tried their hand at innovating this old standby which provided the opportunity for somewhat unique gifts. Let's take a peak.

Clue Mystery Puzzles

Somehow I found two different entries in this series on the same day in stores on opposite sides of town. The trick here revolves around a story that ties into the puzzle proper as you try to solve a mystery. There's also a red decoder magnifying glass to reveal some secrets and make the final page of the story readable. No clue (oh the pun) how much actual mystery solving comes into play when putting these together, so expect an update on such topics once one of them is completed.

Crossword Puzzle.

Two forms of entertainment I dislike combined into a perfect storm of boredom. Actually I love the heartless idea of building an unsolved crossword table only to face the reward of solving the secondary word puzzle. I felt lucky to find this one still in plastic wrap though I love the idea that completing the whole thing would leave a completely different challenge for the poor bastards who attempt it after the initial run-through. We suggested that she writes the crossword answers using different colored markers for each letter and then give it back to a thrift store. Pity the soul who buys it after that.

Buck Rogers.

Look at this beauty! No gimmicks here folks. Just straight up gaudy scifi. I had to count this piece by piece to make sure it was all together and somehow, despite being a good thirty plus years old, it's still intact. The image is clearly inspired by season one since there's a notable absence of hawk and oh my god how neardy am I for knowing that? I'm honestly tempted to ask for a crack at this one once the birthday girl has had her fill of it cause just look at it!

Frankenstein

Ok so I acted greatly out of character and bought myself a puzzle. In my defense, Halloween is just around the corner and a 200 piece image of literature's finest abomination is tough to pass up at just seventy nine cents. In a somewhat serendipitous event I'd learned of this thing just a few days prior on ebay where the prices weren't so kind to us slacker types. Now I shall take comfort in the knowledge that Frankie will adorn the kitchen counter in the coming months at a fraction of the cost.

In case you couldn't tell, I'm starting to fade here. Man was not meant for morning shifts. I'll try to get another post up before next week beats me into a state of sleepy submission. Until then, you all be good to each other and wish me luck. Believe me, it'll come in handy for a job where I kick dead birds across a parking lot.

Trailer Park Boys 3: Don't Legalize It!

One major advantage of being late to to any bit of pop culture is not having to endure the endless wait between new material. To think that some people had to wait years in the hopes that Countdown to Liqueur Day could be washed from their minds. Hell; waiting a month was tough enough. Question is, does this actually redeem this aging franchise or simply drive it further into the dirt?

Worry hit me right from scene one as we open with a set of circumstance that seem right in line with the last flick. There's a funeral, Lahey is hobbled up after suffering a stroke, and Bubbles is living under a porch. Plus there was the usual continuity issues such as J-roc no longer being successful (thankfully he got his personality back) oh and the three babies from the last season are still MIA, maybe a moose ate em. All told I was seriously dreading another ninety minutes of misery. Then a funny thing happened. This one ended up being something good.

 

Really this is more like a two-for-one special. The first half is spent catching up with everyone, and I do mean everyone since they're almost all here except for Corey, Trevor, and the aforementioned babies who'd all be like 7 by now. Oh and Barb....no idea what happened to her.

The second half trims the fat known as supporting cast and becomes a straight-up road movie focusing on the five main dudes. That's where all the best parts come from as the whole thing began to remind me of the better SNL flicks from back in the day. Plenty of funny lines. Serious but not overly sappy moments. Just a nice balance overall.

From the get go, the theme is that of everyone worrying about their future and the potential of losing the people that matter to them. It's subject matter that hits pretty close to home these days and thankfully the movie doesn't let itself get overwhelmed with those issues so much as present how easily they can be dealt with thanks to good friends, fun times, and the proper mixture of booze & weed.

In direct contrast to that is Mr. Lahey. He still keeps people at bay and knows of no other way to deal with his sorrows than straight up drowning them. John Dunsworth has done more than a fine job over the years doing the crazy drunk bit, and he gets to have a little more fun this time thanks to a new drug.

This really is the proper distillation of the whole series. A few idiots make it through life by watching out for each other while a cranked out old bastard tries to stop them out his own inability to just lay back and enjoy life. Perhaps I'm digging up meaning that isn't there but by god if this doesn't feel like a proper ending to the franchise, right down to a fight between Bubbles and Lahey. Of course there's gonna be new episodes out in like a month sooooooo yeah, don't screw this up boys.

Oh and can I note just how ugly the movie is? I mean Canada in winter. Christ! It's like watching a dog shit in your front yard in January.

Until then I've got more shows, books, games, work, and study to get through. Ugh, and morning office shifts are coming my way soon. That alone is a dreadful notion that's made all the worse by August allergies. Dunno what it is exactly but it makes it nearly impossible to get out of bed which isn't kosher when you're due in at 8Am. First world problems...like a warm blanket.

We're Back!

Told ya we'd be back. Had to find a few workarounds for the tech issues and now things are going semi-smoothly. Now the below entry has been sitting long around long enough that I'm not even gonna bother with extra edits. Besides; I gotta remove the American flag table cloths from a sheilf that smells like pot. It's a busy day, trust me.

 

Above is a look at the two newest members of my weird figure collection. Are they painfully racist? You better believe it! Billy Bob and Fresco are fine bedside companions all the same. I found these two nestled amongst various wood crafts in the thrift store a few weeks back. At first I thought they might be put to use in some diy project, but now I think I'm fine with them keeping Betsy and Godzilla company. When in need of a laugh I can pretend that zilla is fighting two mutant penis monsters......don't act like you can't see it. Actually; I'd be very happy to hear from people who might know where something like this came from or what the hell the writing is supposed to mean (if anything).

Ignore the beagle portrait if you can, it's not for us. My brother in law brought this back from the convenience store a few nights back to much fanfare. It's not often that Faygo brings out a new flavor as they opt to rest on a strong existing line-up.

At first the carbination somewhat overpowered the cotton candy flavor, but after letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours it started to balance out quite nicely. I really think this could be a keeper, just don't go in expecting immediate satisfaction cause I swear it's better when it starts to go flat.

 

Another run to the same thrift store which brought my Asian penis men garnered a couple of tabletop items. Usually there would be no interest for me to pick up some plain old copy of Parcheesi but this one had something special. As it was still factory sealed, the price tag from the original store was still pressed firm to the side of the box. Felpausch food stores. Place used to be a corner stone of my town and over the years my mother, brothers, even yours truly worked there at one point or another. My mom was there for decades and I spent so much time there that there's a good chance I walked past this very game in the cereal/toy aisle. As if that wasn't neat enough, the tag had the stock date on it. September of 96. I was eleven at that time for reference. Feels like forever ago but it reminds me of a time and place so after opening it up, I placed the price tag inside for safe keeping.

 

As you can see in the background of that pick I was also lucky enough to find a carrom board, double sided no less. Gotta love the painfully white family on the cover. Why was that such a common practice for game companies back in the day? Like we wouldn't feel assured of a games fun factor unless there was a full sized, sweater clad clan leering at it like like cattle. Never played carrom before but decent dexterity games are tough to find and this claims to have instructions for multiple variants. Something good to have around when you're drunk and have zero access to a pool table. Part of the fun of thrift shopping is the unexpected bonuses, in this case a drum stick was nestled amongst the game pieces. 

 

Chester's cheddar fries and pizza...wheels?

Dunno if any of yall have seen these around. Chester's has a threesome of new chessy snacks hitting the shelves. Last week I tried out the pizza ones. They use the comb shape that pops up in a few of the cheetos varieties and a massive overdose of oregano. Don't go in thinking it'll taste like pizza. Really it tastes more like a pizza joint smells. Sound gross? It kinda is, yet I kept going back for more. The cheddar fries work in a similar manner. Imagine takingcheddar Pringles, folding them into a tube shape, and adding a little bit of Styrofoam for texture. Once again it's sorta nasty yet they're remarkably easy to just go crazy on. There's gotta be some major additive or MSG to make these work the way they do cause I can think of no other reason for them to be as addicting as they are. Maybe tonight I'll grab the honey BBQ twirls and finish off the collection. Wish my guts some luck.

slush puppies blue raspberry

Found these earlier this week at wally world and my god are they fun. Let my nephew have the cherry one which he claimed was really sour. I fully believe him cause this made me pucker like a mo'fucker. Ohhh but it's sooo good and refreshing. This is the exact kind of novelty Summer requires. Oh and don't forget to wear gloves as the package makes no effort to seal in the cold. My hands actually hurt from holding this thing, and I was only picking it up when I wanted a drink. My fingers were so cold that the mouse pad on the laptop wouldn't register them for at least half a minute. It's a painful/joyous experience best meant for those of us who like a little pain mixed in with our candy. Of course this is coming from someone who as a child would bite his lip before drinking lemonade.

The other day I was mistaken for someone called biscuit. Also met someone who introduced themselves with their Call of Duty history.....I still have no idea what they were talking about. Oh, and a large dog tried to eat me. Summer is weird.

Quick Update

Hi there folks. The site is still alive. However; there has been some technical difficulties (amongst other things) slowing down the works. Hopefully we can be back up and running by tonight. Thanks for standing by.