Crystal Pepsi is Back!

Yep, I was in Wal-Mart and was totally surprised to come around the corner of the isle and see something I haven't seen for many many years - Crystal Pepsi!

Now I will say, I haven't drank Pepsi, of any kind, in years. But the nostalgia of Crystal Pepsi brought me back for a taste. I last remember drinking Crystal Pepsi it in the 90s, sitting outside of the local grocery store sipping from a frosty blue can. It's slightly weird to hear myself say that this bubbly transparent sugar water is giving me the nostalgic warm and fuzzies, but it is.

After a nice chilling in the fridge, I took a big sip and it was... pretty tasty! Back in the day, I also seem to remember Crystal Pepsi having a slightly different taste from regular Pepsi - but that could be my fuzzy memory talking... In any case, I did enjoy drinking it, although my stomach doesn't seem as forgiving to Pepsi as it used to. I think next time I won't drink it all at once...

Anyway, my brother did some looking online and it seems that we in Canada are getting this before the US, where it doesn't release until August! He also read that it's apparently a "limited for 8 weeks" thing. In any case, if you're interested, keep an eye out - you might see it very soon!

"Rad"

I've been hearing a word lately that I remember fondly from my youth - but it's been people other than me saying it, total strangers even - That word being "rad".

Is it just me, or is this word making a comeback?! And if so, I'll tell you, I couldn't be happier :)

That's pretty rad.

A Belated Tribute

Nobody wore it like you, Mr. Nimoy.

Living where I do, I don't come across celebrities very often, but Leonard Nimoy was an exception. I took an unlikely visit in 2010 to western small town Vulcan, Alberta, literally finding myself mere feet from the man. You can read about it and see my photos here - http://blog.deantfraser.com/2013/02/i-encountered-spock.html

A Salute!

photo via Merchant of Venom.

I salute you, sir! Let's give the political correctness a rest, because, come on, who are we kidding - It's a Christmas Tree.

The Pumpkin Pie Shake!

Have you seen this?

I'm not known to be a frequent customer of Dairy Queen, but I've been making regular trips there lately thanks to their new offering, the Pumpkin Pie Royal Shake!

I don't know how to explain it, but it's basically like drinking a cold smooth pumpkin pie ...and I do love me some pumpkin pie after all!

I know pumpkin themed drinks and treats seem to be all the rage now, but you should go try this one! I would advise though, to wait a day or two between shakes - otherwise you'll probably get a little "pumpkin fatigue". Truly though, it is pretty awesome :)

And to you folks at Dairy Queen - if you appreciate the mention, I wouldn't mind at all if you wanted to send a little something my way :)

 

Ok, I'll Say It; Summer Is Horrible.

Yeah, I'll probably feel differently in five minutes, but you've got to let me get this off my chest.

Summer is horrible.

I get up in the morning and before I've done anything, I'm sweating. Sticky, greasy, smelly sweat. I'm just sitting in a chair, sweating. I've hardly even moved yet today, what did I do to deserve it? Go have a shower, get out, and then start sweating again. The air starts to get heavy. I feel strange, it's almost like being sick. I'm know not sick, but I feel like I'm sick. It's going to be a looong day.

Ok, sure, but what about all the great things you can do in the summer, like going to the beach? Yeah, the beach! The beach is great! The oppressive unceasing sun beating down on your already blistered red skin, inducing a paranoia to inspect that weird brown spot on your elbow every five minutes. The dry, aching, cracked lips. The boiling, soupy, eye-stinging salt water that leaves a pale brown foam and makes your hair all crusty. The horrible infestation of sand that gets EVERYWHERE; in your butt crack, in your armpit hair, in your eyelashes - and boy, if you get it in your shoes, IT AIN'T EVER GOING AWAY.

And this is not to mention the people at the beach. Folks shamelessly walking around letting all their flappy folds of flesh hang out EVERYWHERE. But not only that; even normally attractive people look gross and old at the beach. The harsh unforgiving light of the summer sun accentuates every pimple, bump, and crease, and the salty water washes off all the makeup and makes your hair look thin and straw-like. On the beach, you look like greasy month-old ham with sweat-caked dog hair on top.

"Oh, well why not just go inside and turn on the air conditioning?" Well, that's great if you have it, but what if you dont? Any hey, it's not like electricity costs any money! Summer blackouts from the overload on the power grid, what could be more fun?

Well at least I can go out and enjoy the life and the energy of those cool summer nights, right? Sounds great! But NOPE. This potentially wonderful nocturnal reprieve from the blistering heat is ruined by the most aggravating of creatures; That's right, the mosquito. The bane of my existence for 3 months every year. SLAP and SCRATCH and BLEED, SLAP and SCRATCH and BLEED, SLAP and SCRATCH and BLEED. AAAAARRRRRGH! My arms and legs make it look like I picked a fight with an alley cat in heat!

Want to hang out at a friend's evening backyard party? TOO BAD, THE MOSQUITOES ARE OUT! Light some candles or spray yourself with all the toxic chemicals you want - it won't help, you'll see. "These mosquitoes are eating me alive! We'd better go inside!"  Well that's fine, but I ALREADY SPENT ALL MY TIME INSIDE OVER THE WINTER!

At least everything is a wonderful lush green now. Oh wait, it was already lush and green in the spring! At least I could go out in the fresh fragrant spring air without MY LUNGS HEAVING WITH HUMIDITY, without MY SKIN SCORCHED AND INSECT BITTEN or without MY SMELLY CLOTHES STICKING TO MY GREASY SWEAT DRENCHED BODY.

Come to think of it, maybe that's what Summer really is; a twisted, mutated, steroided-out extreme version of Spring. AND IT JUST WON'T END.

But in case I haven't said it - Oh Autumn, with your crisp, fresh, invigorating touch. I love you. Come quickly.

Please, share your comments!

Parking Lot Humor

On a recent outing, I noticed these in a couple of parking lots;

Amen.

Classy!

 Not "show accurate" but I can understand why they didn't put "Police Box" on there...

The Appropriately Named Calgary Marathon Winner!

Okay, how cool is this?

(from the Calgary Herald) 
"Kip Kangogo’s daughter won’t know it for a few years, but she received a priceless birthday present on Sunday. Emma turns one in Lethbridge on Monday and her dad, running just his fourth marathon, won the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon just for her with a record race of two hours, 19 minutes and 47 seconds."

Kip Kangogo? Yes, he can.

DC Comics and The Big Bang Theory; The Opportunities

CBS's wildly popular "The Big Bang Theory", while not my cup of tea, seems to have a really nice relationship with DC Comics.

 
The characters are always visiting the local comic shop where a treasure trove of DC comics and merchandise are displayed quite conspicuously. They frequently wear DC-themed t-shirts and merchandise, and on special occasions, even dress like DC characters. I get the impression that they even mention DC comics characters and events pretty frequently.

That in mind, I had some thoughts about how DC could further exploit and respond to this cozy relationship;

- Thanks to Sheldon, the Flash symbol is one of the most visible graphics in America right now. Now, The Flash in CW network's upcoming The Flash tv show features a symbol on his chest that mostly resembles the classic version, but instead of the red color in it, they should go back to the more recognizable classic white and also make the symbol a little bigger. Brightening the costume's red color slightly might be nice too. Perhaps we can hope this recently-revealed costume is just the Flash's prototype suit anyway?

- With Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg all confirmed to be showing up in the upcoming untitled Batman vs. Superman movie - Warner Brothers should capitalize on The Big Bang Theory exposure also, and strive to get the Flash (whether it's Grant Gustin or someone else) and a new Green Lantern on the big screen (if only as cameo), and in the movie-going public's consciousness sooner than later.

- WB should also pull some strings and get the Man of Steel himself, Henry Cavill, to make an appearance on The Big Bang Theory. If you're thinking that Cavill is too big for the small screen - well, when we're talking about the huge audience The Big Bang Theory garners - virtually nobody is "too big". Besides, he's a really nice guy and I don't think the female audience would mind seeing him either. I'm sure the writers could come up with an entertaining reason for him to meet up with Sheldon and the gang. Like I said, I don't really care for the show, but even I would tune in for that. Didn't I hear that Henry Cavill and Kaley Cuoco were seeing each other a while back?

- Finally, DC could even put out a Big Bang Theory comic mini-series (perhaps make it very tongue in cheek and include DC characters), and add some promotion to entice people to read other DC titles.

Anyway, what do you think of my ideas for DC to make the most of their Big Bang notoriety? What are your ideas?

Window washers at a children's hospital

 Love it!

via https://twitter.com/StayChiIl/status/297481516890595329

Found on Ebay! TMNT Sweater...

My word! Is this not the most glorious garment ever made?!

The Epic Split

Wow. JCVD is the MAN.

Funny and Awesome Batman Images

Found via the Bat-Blog, here's a smattering of great Batman themed pics;

 

Justin Bieber... Kids Love 'Im!

A piece of art from a children's arts and crafts fair I was invited to judge a while back.

Kids just love Justin Bieber... or "Justin Beaver" as the tag says.

The News About Smoking!

Something I think you'll want to hear today... I was surfing around this morning and saw the headline on a news page; 

"New Study Proves Quitting Smoking Extends Your Life"

Have you heard about this yet? Well needless to say, I'm quite happy about this news! Now that the proof is in, I intend to buy some cigarettes and start smoking right away, as I want to start quitting as soon as possible. 

Right now I'm drawing up plans for a healthy rotation schedule where I'll smoke for 3 weeks, then quit for 3 weeks before starting up again. I estimate I should probably be able to extend my life indefinitely this way. 

The only sad part is that this study was not conducted years ago!

Well, pass on the news, folks! Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

Back to Vulcan!

A while ago I recounted my trip to Vulcan, Alberta where I got to experience Leonard Nimoy's visit to the community and take in the sights of the day. Well I visited the Star Trek themed town again this weekend for their annual Spock Days! It was my first time for the town's summer celebration and I snapped a few pics to share with ya... (click images to enlarge)

Upon first arriving, I could see the town's parade sailing down main street - headed by a "USS Vulcan" float that was actually kind of awesome. 

Yeah, someone should have told Captain Kirk about getting his Tribbles neutered!

Also of great note in the parade - the guests of honor for Spock Days 2013 - Star Trek Voyager's "The Doctor", Robert Picardo, and "Neelix", Ethan Phillips!

 Later there were some photo ops with both actors, held at the new "Trekcetera Museum" - which unfortunately did not open to the public as scheduled because it "wasn't quite perfect yet". Bah, just open it!

 

Later there was a garage sale at this church, and on the outside of the building I saw a bewildering sign. "Star Trek service"?

 Ok, I have to say something about this. What the heck, people! Besides just being lame, don't you know that this kind of junk diminishes both Star Trek, and more importantly, the things of the spirit? Ugh... Anyway...

A beautiful print depicting the Vulcan Enterprise monument.

I was pretty amazed by this sight! You never see a spread of comics like this in a grocery store any more! But there it was, right in the Market Street grocery. Comic fans visiting Vulcan, go get your titles here! Wow.

It's been a hard day's trekkin'. (Your captions welcome!)

 Anyway, I hope you go visit Vulcan, Alberta some time. Oh, and don't forget to stop in at the bakery, mmmm!

Mr. Bean Schools Us All On Free Speech.

Anyone who considers free speech to be an important issue owes it to themselves to watch Rowan Atkinson's speech at the Reform Section 5 Parliamentary reception.



Brilliant words. The way to combat speech you find offense is with more speech, not less.

My Kind of Satire!

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