Random Awesomeness (part 183)

• Completing the best Dodgers team set of all-time [Night Owl Cards]
• Right/wrong way to parent [imgur]
• Whatever You Do, Don’t Touch Adrian Beltre’s Head! [Bleacher Report]
• Mahlon Duckett’s All-Stars: Last living member of Philadelphia Stars offers all-time Negro Leagues team [ESPN]
• Photographs of Superheroes in Everyday Situations [DIY Photography]
• Netflix orders new Pee-wee Herman movie co-produced by Judd Apatow [NME]
• New ‘Ghostbusters’ Inspired by ‘Walking Dead’ Scares [Rolling Stones]

Pre-order Bachman – Heavy Blues.

Random Awesomeness (part 182)

• M.A.S.K. Making a Comeback! [Kenner Collector]
• Where in the World Is Rob Broder? [Wax Heaven 2.0]
• Slimy Piece of Worm-Ridden Filth – Life Inside Jabba the Hutt [Jamie Benning on vimeo]
• 1982 Fleer Major League Prospects: Ryne Sandberg, Wade Boggs [Cards That Never Were]
• Ken Griffey [1985 Topps]
• Heavy Metal Heroes Valentine’s Day Cards [Wonderful Wonderblog]
• Universal Rushmore [ShellHawk’s Nest]

Purchase L.A. Guns – Cocked & Loaded.

Random Awesomeness (part 181)

• Jimmy Fallon Went to Bayside High with “Saved By The Bell” Cast [The Tonight Show on YouTube] (JT sez: If you never click on another link in your life, click on this link!)
• Parallel Universe: 2015 Topps pushes the envelope to new heights [Baseball Card Breakdown]
• Mr. Cub [Wrigley Wax]
• Watch Van Halen’s 1995 Performance in Milan, Italy [Van Halen News Desk]
• 5 Best Shortstops to Ever Play in the MLB [Cheat Sheet] (JT sez: Jeter as 2nd best? Puhlease.)
• Lego Joins the ‘Scooby-Doo’ Gang [Variety]
• Monster Stamps [Classic Movie Monsters]

Purchase Judas Priest – Defenders Of The Faith (30th Anniversary Edition) available March 10!

Random Awesomeness (part 180)

• Seven Tips from Edgar Allan Poe on How to Write Vivid Stories and Poems [Open Culture]
• 10 words to cut from your writing [Ragan’s PR Daily]
• Backstory of ’59 Fleer Williams-Ruth card [Bob Lemke’s Blog]
• ’86mfc Diamond King Dwight Gooden [Mets Baseball Cards Like They Ought To Be]
• Watching The 1952 World Series On The MLB Classics YouTube Channel [The Shlabotnik Report]
• Every Doctor Who Featured in Dr. Seuss-Style Art [Geek Tyrant]

Purchase The Charlie Daniels Band – A Decade of Hits.

Random Awesomeness (part 179)

• Mac Sabbath! [Popped Culture]
• The 50 Best Documentaries Streaming on Netflix 2014 [Paste]
• Autograph Set To Return With First New Song In 25 Years [Sleaze Roxx]
• Hanna Barbardians of the Galaxy [Unrefined Foz]
• mfc ’68 Tom Seaver Alt [Mets Baseball Cards Like They Ought To Be!]
• “The Kid” Gary Carter [Every Hall of Famer]
• 1985 Topps Dickie Thon [The Cardboard Examiner]

Purchase J Roddy Walston & The Business – Essential Tremors.

Merry Christmas (He-Man style)!

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas

Wishing you and yours a wonderful night tonight,
and an even better day tomorrow.

Random Awesomeness (part 178)

• This Sentence Has Five Words [9GAG]
• DC Comics’ March Variant Theme Goes from “The Matrix” to “The Mask” [Comic Book Resources] (JT sez: These are awesome. How many can you name by sight? I especially love the Action Comics send-up of “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure!”)
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer Shot for Shot Remake with Original Trilogy Footage [Dr. Jimmy Russell’s YouTube]
• Kill Her, Mommy: The Women Who Were Mrs. Voorhees [Halloween Love]
• 1981 Fleer Minnie Minoso [Cards That Never Were]
• Dukes Mania [Plaid Stallions]
• The Burger Chef Tray [Wrigley Wax]

Purchase Idina Menzel – Holiday Wishes.

Seven years

I got a notification from WordPress today…

It’s hard to believe I have been doing this for seven years. I appreciate every single reader, especially those who have interacted through e-mails and comments on the site. I have made some very good friends, most of whom I have never even met, but I know we could sit down and have a fun and friendly conversation together if the opportunity came.

I hope you have enjoyed all the baseball, horror, book, music, and movie talk over the past seven years, and I hope to continue for many more.

Random Awesomeness (part 177)

• Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens Desert Speeder Bike custom action figure toy [Sabertooth’s Workshop]
• Will Forte’s ‘Last Man on Earth’ Joined By January Jones, Kristen Schaal and More [Screen Crush]
• 7 Obscure Literary Devices [metnal_floss]
• The Most Famous Author From Every State [Business Insider]
• An Amusing Aside [Taliesin Meets the Vampires]
• Yes, my ’65T Paige custom card is an anachronism [Bob Lemke’s Blog]
• Celebrity Jersey Cards #200 Billy Corgan & Dee Snider [Johngy’s Beat]

Purchase Social Distortion – White Light, White Heat, White Trash.

How AMC spoiled Sunday night’s The Walking Dead…and what fans could have done to avoid it

The above image appeared on The Walking Dead‘s Facebook feed almost immediately after the bullet when through Beth’s brain Sunday night. The image was a major spoiler for everyone who had not yet seen the episode (including everyone on the West Coast who “like” The Walking Dead), because Facebook is so addictive it was impossible to just log off for a few hours until the episode was over.

“Don’t tell me what happens tonight! I didn’t watch it yet!” That’s a frequent status update. I understand that some people have other obligations during the initial airing, but the easy solution to avoid spoilers is to stay away from Facebook (or Twitter or whatever other social media site you use) until you have watched the episode. And if you are unable to do that, knowing that you will see spoilers from friends (and sometimes even the network itself), then you really have no one to blame but yourself.

I decided to put together a little list of things you could have been doing instead of scrolling through Facebook while you were waiting to watch the episode.

• Read a book. Just take the “Face” away from that other thing you were reading. There are tons of books online, or you could go the old-fashioned route and actually get one made out of dead trees.
• Write. Make yourself the author of your own post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested world that is ten times better than The Walking Dead. Don’t laugh. Someone will do it someday. Might as well be you.
• Exercise. Get on the treadmill and work up your running speed to escape those faster-than-Romero-zombies zombies. Lift some weights so you can rip their skulls off and use them as weapons, Daryl Dixon-style.
• Watch Netflix or a DVD. If you can’t watch the current episode because you don’t have cable or you live in a different time zone, fire up Netflix or the DVD player (do they still make those things?) and watch your favorite movie.
• Fix a new meal. Find an interesting recipe online, go buy the ingredients and whip it up; or use Supercook to find one using ingredients you already have in the house. You might find a new favorite food for yourself or the minions in your own little universe.
• Write a letter to an old friend. Not an e-mail. Not a Facebook message. An actual letter, with pen and paper. Don’t you love getting something in the mail besides bills? Other people do, too.
• Clean your house. When is the last time you vacuumed?
• Play a game with your kids. Battleship or Operation or Fluxx<img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=thewrisjou0b-20&l=ur2&o=1&quot; width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" / or Monopoly Deal, or even The Walking Dead board game.
• Play Solitaire. Does’t that still come free on every computer? Or you could even pull out an actual deck of 52 cards and play it the way we played it before every home was infested with eleven personal computers.
• Call your mom. She’d love to sit and chat for a few hours. It’s been forever since you called.

So there you have it. Things you can do instead of getting on Facebook…whether it is to avoid spoilers or just because you are way too addicted.

Random Awesomeness (part 176)

• The Walking Dead Parody by the Hillywood Show [Nerdist]
• Star Wars: Episode VII Trailer – George Lucas’ Special Edition [timtimfed on YouTube]
• Star Wars Was Almost VERY Different – As These Deleted Scenes Prove [Movie Pilot]
• Hot Head Harvey [kezeff on deviantART]
• Star Wars Snowflakes 2014 [Anthony Herrera Designs]
• Incredibly Useful Computer Life Hacks [guff]
• Guide Diaries: October on the Big Horn [The Sheridan Press]
• Chef Michael [Classic Movie Monsters]

Purchase Ed Sheeran – x.

Random Awesomeness (part 175)

• Pep Talk from Kami Garcia [National Novel Writing Month]
• Keep Writing, and It Will Soon Be Automatic [Science of Us]
• 10 Writing Techniques from Bram Stoker’s Dracula [Writer’s Digest]
• Random Royals #11: In Honor of Dan Quisenberry [Heartbreaking Cards]
• Album Covers – The Bigger Picture [Aptitude]
• My Long Lost Thorzul Halloween Entry [Uncle Doc’s Card Closet]
• Promotional Squad: The Monster Squad Press Kit and Promo Photos [Branded in the 80s]

Random Awesomeness (part 174)

• Forgotten Favorites: Offbeat Saturday Morning Halloween Episodes [Strange Kids Club]
• Essentials for the Perfect Halloween Party Playlist [Redecorating Middle-earth in Early Lovecraft]
• What If Star Wars Happened In Our World [Klyker]
• Pixar’s 22 rules to phenomenal storytelling [imgur]
• Supermovies: This Is What The Next Few Years Of Your Life Looks Like [Comics Alliance]
• Spooky Tin Can Lantern DIY [The Paper Mama]
• Original Dio Members Recording Album As Last In Line [Sleaze Roxx]
• Check Out The LEGO Version Of Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet [Incredible Things]

Purchase Alice Cooper – The Eyes of Alice Cooper.

Random Awesomeness (part 173)

• Scooby Doo lost mysteries by IBTrav [IBTrav Art Blog] (JT sez: These are awesome, featuring Ghostface, Freddy, and Michael Myers…there are even more Scooby-Doo crossovers by IBTrav here.)
• Halloween TV Specials: Halloween is Grinch Night [Halloween Love]
• Trivia Squad: 10 Fun Facts About The Monster Squad [Branded in the 80s]
• Archie Meets Frankenstein’s Monster [Wonderful Wonderblog]
• The 2014 Topps Update Series Checklist is Now Live! [bdj610’s Topps Baseball Card Blog]
• Panini sticker album art #5 [James Eatock Presents: The He-Man and She-Ra Blog!]
• Throwbacks, Infographics, and Statistics all for Halloween! [Something wicKED this way comes…]
• Vintage Hallowe’en Cartoons! [ShellHawk’s Nest]

Purchase Alice Cooper – “Keepin’ Halloween Alive.”

Random Awesomeness (part 172)

• Roberto Clemente is Alive! [Baseball Card Breakdown]
• Is Sam from Trick ‘r Treat a horror film icon? [Horror Society]
• Harry Potter: The Creature Vault Book Coming Soon [The Nerd Machine]
• These Avengers Cereals Are Part of a Marvelous Breakfast [io9]
• 1976 Topps George Foster All Star MVP [Cards That Never Were]
• Archaeologists In Turkey Say They’ve Discovered Dracula’s Dungeon [Huffington Post]
• Minimalist Hitchcock movie posters designed by Matt Needle [Caffienated Joe]

Purchase Allan Sherman – My Son, The Greatest (which for some reason does not include the song “My Son, The Vampire”)

Random Awesomeness (part 171)

• 15 Delightfully Inspirational Quotes from Great Writers [mental_floss]
• Doodlin’ bad guys [Beware The Horror Blog]
• Should You Trust That Doctor? [College Humor]
• Get Your Hands on LEGO Versions of Your Favorite Horror Icons! [iHorror]
• 8-Bit Videogame Halloween Cut Out Mask [Jack’s Attic]
• Some Historical Perspective On Derek Jeter’s Yankees Uniform Tribute [Todd Radom Design]
• 2014 TSR: Introducing A New Multi-level Parallel Set Featuring “Elvis Andrus At Arby’s” [The Shlabotnik Report]
• 2014 Chachi Wax Box Cards [The Phillies Room]

Purchase Bob Dylan – Modern Times.

Random Awesomeness (part 170)

• The 1943 Phillies Team That Never Was [Cards That Never Were]
• Custom Vintage Reds & More and More Customs of the Great 8 [Jay Bruce Custom Cards & More]
• Phillies Throw Combined No-Hitter! [The Phillies Room]
• 16 Out-of-Context IKEA Instructions to Help You Live a Better Life [mental_floss]
• Na-Nu Na-Nu! [Springfield Punx]
• What Lies Beneath Stonehenge? [Smithsonian]
• Proof That the John Williams Score Is Absolutely Essential to Star Wars [Slate]
• Dr. Horrible’s Undead Sing-Along Blog [Popped Culture]
• Horror Happy Meals [Horror Society]

Purchase Rainbow – Down to Earth.

Random Awesomeness (part 169)

• 2014 TSR: Can’t Nothin’ Bring Me Down [The Shlabotnik Report]
• Muppet Characters Appear to Sing and Dance to the Beastie Boys’ 1992 Hip Hop Song ‘So What’cha Want’ [Laughing Squid]
• Robin Williams by John Severin [Matt Tauber]
• Watch This Street Performer Flawlessly Play House & Techno With PVC Pipes & Flip Flops [edm]
• My favorite money arts I’ve done [imgur]
• Saturday Night Live at 40 [Grantland]
• Is An Original ‘Star Wars’ Villain Returning For Episode VII? [Inquisitr] [JT sez: MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!]

Purchase Black Robot – Woman.

I’m still here…kinda

Thanks to those who have asked why I haven’t been posting a whole lot lately. It’s been busy on the personal life front, as well as the actually doing something and not just sitting around front, and between those two things I haven’t taken much time to update the blog. I still have a few books in queue to review, but have been focused a bit more on my own novel lately. I’m hoping to have something finished on that front by the end of the year, and will update you along the way as I put more pages behind me.

On the personal front, my family took a devastating hit last Monday. Our dog Hans, who had been with us for about two years, had to be put down. He was always a “mean” dog, but loved the four of us and was always on his best behavior with us. But during the last week or so of his life, he had started to turn and was growling and baring his teeth at the family. My wife took him to the vet, and they were going to try to find a rescue for him, but the vet determined that there was something medically wrong with his brain. We miss him terribly, and I still get choked up when I think of the little guy. His cage still sits in the living room, while the boys have taken some of his toys to their rooms.

Back to the actually doing something and not just sitting around front, my college buddy Joe contacted me over the weekend to remind me that our band’s 20th anniversary is coming up next year. We started kicking around the idea of getting Roach together to jam and maybe even gig, and that set me on a mission to finally upload some of the footage from our only performance, dated November 4, 1995. It’s more than rough around the edges, but man did we ever have fun. I miss Joe (guitar), Scott (bass guitar), and Kip (drums), as well as our first “drummer” Ben (who played “drums” on pots and pans). It’s been too long, boys.

Here is one of the songs we played, an original called “Just Like Betsy.” I could tell you that we were nervous, and that would be the truth. I could tell you that we usually sounded better, and that would be a lie. Take it for what it is, a bunch of college kids having fun with no real aspirations for stardom…