Ain't nothin' but a clown dog!

I absolutely LOVE dogs, so I thought it would be fun to see what some of them were up to out 'n' about the internets. Here's a bunch I found just "clowning around"...

Yikes! I'm not JOKING,
this one is scary!

        Won't you laugh for
sweet Snuggles?

"Do you like my rrrruffles?"

"I really need a drink!"

I've heard of the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat,
but THIS is ridiculous!




~ All photos via Google Images ~

Trick 'r Treat!

"Boo", everyone!
Please, enjoy this gallery of happy Halloween hijinx...
if you dare!






I can hardly stand seeing this pic. Guess
I just don't have the stomach for it...

  































What you can't see here is the small print
which reads, "Butcher knife sold separately."

  
































Alright. As far as I'm concerned, these pumpkins
are sooo hideous that they're actually "cutting edge!"



























Holy crap! If these kids were walking down
MY street, I'd find me a baseball bat QUICK!



































Nothing funny, here. I just like the soft
candlelight from the jack-o-lantern. Plus,
I think she's a pretty lady.



...And then eat ALL of their candy
once they've gone to bed!



Happy Halloween! And remember, don't open your front door if the Trick 'r Treaters are so tall you can see their eyes through the peep hole!

~ All images taken from Jim Heimann's book, 'Halloween: Vintage Holiday Graphics'. Published by Taschen. ~

Retro Photo: Old, family album snapshots

By far, the most valuable material things in my world are photographs. Sure, I love my old toys and games a lot, too, but nothing is as priceless or irreplaceable as an old family photograph! That's why I'm so pleased to have borrowed a few of my family's old albums from my mom; I can scan and make copies for my own collection. Plus, now I can share some of my personal favorites with you. So if it sounds like fun, just grab a seat next to me and we'll get started...



This is my mom and dad on New Years Eve, 1969,
"sealing the deal" in a Las Vegas wedding chapel.
They made quite the handsome couple, if you ask me!





Here are the stylish newlyweds, again! Look how
very dashing my dad appears in his suit, smoking
a pipe. And check out my mom's HAIR! Wow!
Actually, it's interesting to note that my mom
was about 5 or 6 months pregnant with me in this
photo because if I didn't know better, I'd swear she
was carrying ME under that HELMET of hers!





Not sure WHAT I DID to deserve THIS... But at
least I look happy. And I should, just look at the
bottle of port they threw in there with me!
Here, I'm about 1-year-old and happy as a clam.
A drunken clam.




























Did I ever mention that my grandparents were robots?





















"Now, what??"
Here, I'm about 2 or 3 and quite
obviously less than impressed.


























Grandpa

























Sheesh! You'd think that riding HUGE turtles
and carousel horses would make all the little
boys smile, but NOOOO, not this kid...



Viva, Las Vegas!
I think my mom looks WAY cool, here. She's totally
rockin' that retro look and vibe... only it WASN'T
retro back THEN! It was the real deal.






















"Allo. Parlez-vous francais?"
This shot cracks me up every time I see it!
And it makes me think of Pepe Le Pew,
if he were a little boy and NOT a skunk.

























Well, I hope all of that didn't bore you too much, folks. In fact, thanks for indulging me! Until the next 'Retro Photo' session, remember... Today's snapshot could be tomorrow's priceless treasure.

~ All photos property of Anthony See ~

Happy Halloween!

I'm sure we all remember sitting in class, back in elementary school, working away on some arts 'n' crafts project that involved colored construction paper, glue (or rubber cement), tape and safety-scissors because of some forthcoming holiday, such as Halloween. That "Cat Boy" up there sure knew how to use the tape! And you can tell he's proud of his creation! I miss those simple times. Yes, I can still sit and work on an art project at home on a weekend afternoon, and I occasionally do, but it's not the same. As an adult you'll never again have that sense of total freedom to create, or the young mind that was virtually uninhibited by the types of thoughts we now have as adults, like paying for rent/mortgage, bills, groceries, etc. Being a kid certainly had its perks! It's too bad we didn't know how good we had it, back then. Seems like most of us just couldn't wait to grow up... and do grown-up things.

I know that's why I was sooo excited when I became old enough to start going Trick 'r Treating without my parents! Nothing personal against them, of course. It was just that new taste of freedom, if only for one night a year, that I found very exciting! And I think that it plays a big part in the development of children's independence. Yes, times are different now, and a lot of neighborhoods are not as safe as they once were. However, I do think that lots of modern day parents over-react by not allowing their kids to go out unchaperoned, even if they are technically old enough. And it's not like the kid is going to want to go out totally alone, anyway... He or she is more than likely going to want to join some of their other friends, and then see what sort of havoc they can wreak! Good-natured havoc, I'm sure.


Please enjoy my gallery of Halloween treats, below. They're just some of my favorites from a book of collected vintage holiday images put together by Editor/Art Director Jim Heimann, and published by Taschen.







"Sshh! I'm a very, very quiet little
mouse... Could I trouble you for, maybe,
one small piece of candied cheese?"







"Billy, you know that bitch Jane is
talking shit behind your back to that
new boy, right?! All the while, she's
sitting there "innocently" cutting out
her paper bats..."

"Well, Dick, I guess it just means
this pumpkin won't be the only
thing that I'll be carving today."







"Yes, that's right. I've been a baaad
skunk! Don't you want to spank
me? You do want to spank the baaad
little skunk, don't you? Sure you do!
Now, come lift my tail and I'll
give you a good reason to spank me..."







(Alright, they're in the kitchen, so we
know that the butcher knife
can't be too far away...)







"So long, everyone! Thanks for stopping
by! Have a safe and
spooky Halloween! And
remember to always inspect your kid's
candy before you eat it, parents!"




Gee, I think J.P. (Jaunty Punkin) pretty much wrapped everything up for me! So my job is done here. For now, anyway...
Bwa, ha, ha, ha, ha!


~All images taken from Jim Heimann's book, 'Halloween: Vintage Holiday Graphics', published by Taschen~

Saturday Night Gaga!

The time has come, my friends. After watching Lady Gaga's two live performances on SNL this last Saturday night, I have to admit that she's much more than just a fashion freak or a flash-in-the-pan pop singer with a big bag o' tricks. This Lady can actually sing quite well! And without any Auto-Tune enhancement! I was expecting her to just lip-sync everything, so you can imagine what an impression Gaga made on me. She also plays the piano, nicely! All of this along with bizarre costumes and fascinatingly odd dance choreography makes for a real unique talent in my book.

Lady's first performance on the show was of her hit song, 'Paparazzi'. I thought it was fantastic! She looked great, sounded great, and the way Gaga moves when she dances is just so... different. In a good way! When it was over I still wanted more, and anxiously awaited her second performance later on in the show.






"Oh, yeah, Lady Caca? Where do you think you'd
be if I, Madonna, hadn't paved the way before
you? Just give me that sad wig of yours and stop
pretending to be a female!"




Another fun, pleasant surprise of the evening was Madonna's cameo appearance alongside Lady G in the Deep House Dish skit. It was a little on the goofy side, but it's always kinda neat to see a couple of divas in a cat fight, right? Even if it was all just pretend...

And for the record, I thought that Madonna looked pretty damn good! I've been reading some not-so-nice comments in certain places, and I just wanted to throw in my two cents. For what it's worth.






Gaga's gyroscope left me all agog!
She actually wore this contraption through the entire second
performance, a medley of about 3 or 4 different songs.




When Lady appeared on stage for her second act, she was wearing the strangest, sci-fi movie prop-type-looking-thing! The closest reference point I can think of is a gyroscope. And as she moved around, so did the separate rings, moving this way and that. The thing had to take some major coordination, and lots of practice! Then, she sat down at the piano with the thing still on, and proceeded to play while she sang! Again, no lip-syncing or Auto Tuning.

When the show was over, I had the feeling that Miss Gaga was only just getting started. For a Lady who once seemed like nothing more than a cheap thrill or a guilty pleasure had now shown her true abilities to a much wider audience, and I believe because of that she will soon become an even bigger star! Keep an eye on her, folks. There's no telling how far this Lady will go...



~All photos via Google Images~

San Diego Comic-Con... We Went, We Saw and We Conquered!

Well, we did it! Four days of comics, toys, lots of people, people in costumes and even more people! Did I mention the people? It's just insane. I wish that I'd taken more photos, but once you're afloat in that crowded sea of humans, you kind of lose your bearings and don't think about such things as cameras. Especially, if you're weighted down with bags of purchased goodies!

Speaking of goodies, we were anxious to get our hands on two of this year's Comic-Con exclusives: a My Little Pony that has two different sides (one side is green, the other purple), for Tommy, and a Littlest Pet Shop super-hero kitty, for me. We got 'em, too! It's weird, though, because on the first day, in order to buy them, people had to be somewhere at a certain time to get a ticket just so they could get in line, then they had to wait in that HUGE line which looked like something you'd see at an amusement park. But the second day was completely different. Tommy and I just walked right up to the Hasbro booth and bought both toys instantly! No tickets, no line. I'm sure glad we didn't have to go through all of that first day rigamarole. If we had, and then saw how easily people could get them the next day, we would've surely been pissed!

One side of Tommy's two-faced super pony...

... And here is the other side.

Look! Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No, it's my Comic-Con super kitty

from Littlest Pet Shop!

Another highlight, for me anyway, was shortly after we entered the convention on Thursday. We must've only been walking the floor for about 10 minutes when, suddenly, I spotted her... A lady dressed as Alice (in Wonderland) who also happened to look like Bette Davis! I mean, she could've been Bette's stunt double! Not that Miss Davis ever did a movie role that would require such a thing, but man, this lady could've done it! Check out the pics below, and then let me know if you agree...

Curiouser and curiouser... Is that Bette Davis in Wonderland?

I'm sure that must be the Mad Hatter on the left. And Bette

is clearly holding the Cheshire Cat, so who/what is that on the

right? A human Cheshire? Creepy.

She's ready for her close-up, Mr. DeMille...





Of course, there were also real celebrities in attendance for various reasons. Among them were Zachary Levi (Chuck), Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory), Amanda Palmer (Dresden Dolls), Robert Pattinson (Twilight, duh!), Kristen Stewart (Twilight, double duh!), Tim Burton (Nightmare Before Christmas, super duh!), Johnny Depp (If you don't know what he's from, you probably aren't reading this because you're so out of touch with the world that you don't even have internet access, or a computer!), Lou Ferrigno (Incredible Hulk), Matt Groening (The Simpsons) and many, many more! I didn't get any photos of them, unfortunately.

Friday night, we went to an exclusive Disney Press cocktail party at a hip restaurant/bar in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter known as Bondi. It's really neat. They have these huge basket pods you can sit in, like private booths! We didn't get to sit in one because we were in the bar, but they were sure cool to look at. And the ones that weren't "in-service" were actually raised up and hanging from the ceiling. I'd never seen anything like it! Here, take a look...

Bondi basket pods. I sooo wanted to sit in one of these!

Oh, well. There's always next year...

That just about covers the main highlights. I could bore you with a day-by-day itinerary, but I will spare you. Maybe, next year I will manage to take more photos. Ones of real celebrities, too!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

And beware of humans disguised as cats... Cheshire Cats.





"Meow."

San Diego Comic-Con, Here We Come!

It's that time, again!

Every Summer for the last decade or so, Tommy and I have been attending the San Diego International Comic-Con, here in California. For those of you who don't already know, Tommy Kovac is a comic book creator who writes and illustrates his own works for publisher, Slave Labor Graphics. So far, his body of work includes the books 'Stitch', 'Skelebunnies', 'Autumn' and, most notably, the highly acclaimed Disney Press published 'Wonderland'. That last one was a collaboration with artist Sonny Liew, who did all of the beautiful illustrations complimenting Tommy's well-crafted story. If you have any appreciation for Disney's 'Alice in Wonderland' movie, or Lewis Carroll's original books, you would probably like 'Wonderland'. Tommy based his tale on both, while creating something entirely new and inventive. You really should check it out!

Cover of the Disney Press 'Wonderland'

graphic novel.

(To be clear, SLG first published the story

as a series of 6 single-issue comic books.

Then, Disney Press published them all

together in one graphic novel.)

If you're not familiar with Comic-Con, let me enlighten you. The San Diego International Comic-Con is the annual convention for all-things comic related. And even some stuff that isn't! It's been drawing thousands upon thousands of attendees each year for about 40 years, now. You would not believe the crowds unless you'd been amongst them personally! It really is an "experience" being at the convention. And when we go, we always attend all 4 days of it, so I'm always more than ready to leave when the final day approaches! I do have some fun, and I like being a supportive husband, but 4 whole days of that craziness and crowd congestion is quite exhausting for most anyone.

This is but a mere taste of what it's like walking around

on the convention hall floor.

Here is what it looks like outside the convention center, at the

end of each day. It's chaos in the streets, I tell you!

One of the most entertaining things to see at the convention, is the people. Well, the people who are not afraid to wear a costume, anyway. You see all manner of dress, too! Everything from total head-to-toe Klingons (with those big prosthetic foreheads and face make-up) to barely there, skimpy, flesh exposing "outfits". And believe me, you don't want to see some of the people who choose to share their physical attributes! For some reason, they seem to think that they're quite a hot property, and most of them are soooo not...

Look at this gaggle of giddy girls in their goofy getups!

Of course, the skimpier ones are tame compared to some...

A Cylon from Battlestar Galactica attempts to intimidate his

way through the thick crowd of humans.

I rather like this one! I guess that

she's supposed to be like some kind

of burlesque interpretation of

Batman's Joker?

No, they're not martians. It's the Shreks, of course!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this one

actually is a martian! (...with a coordinating

green Starbucks drink, natch!)

O.k., I just threw this one in for the ladies...

No, I didn't. I really threw it in for the boys!

(But if the ladies enjoy it also, that's great.)

This one kinda scares me, and I'm not sure why. Is it some sort

of Super Panda Girl? What would her powers be, I wonder?

This one might be my absolute favorite! I mean, it's

Darth Vader on a rickshaw! I just don't think it gets

any better than this.

Well, that's about all I have time for. I still have to pack my suitcase and fill the gas tank so that we're ready to take off to San Diego tomorrow morning...

I know it's only mid-week, but have a great weekend once it gets here! I'll be having a weekend full of sensory overload, while wading through tons of people just like I've shown you.

Bye-bye!

All photos via Google Images