Homer Simpson Thinks the Space Needle is Actually from Outer Space

From last night's Simpsons, another reference for my Simpsons Take Seattle inventory...

Father Knows Worst (April 26, 2009).
Homer scans a Springfield Elementary hallway to get ideas for Bart's balsa wood model contest. Seeing an Eiffel Tower poster, he dismisses it as "too obvious." Then, seeing a Space Needle poster (above), he remarks, “gotta be something from Earth.”

Homer might've avoided this goof had he joined Marge and the kids on their Seattle visit in The Simpsons Movie, in which our fair burg looked like this:

I don't know how last night's episode ended, 'cause I fell asleep.

Bigfoot is Everywhere

Particularly in Portland, where Eliza and I spent the weekend.

Ground Kontrol has the White Water pinball (featuring Bigfoot's furry spinning head), while over at PGE Park (where the Beavs beat the Grizzlies), I spied Bigfoot's hot dog stand.


Elmer's has the "Big Foot Breakfast" and "Big Foot Burger" on their kids' menu (unfortunately, they were all out of these)... At the Candy Basket, home of the creepy chocolate waterfall, I scored a milk chocolate Bigfoot foot (not so big, really -- it's only eight inches long)... I picked up a Bigfoot postcard promoting Crafty Wonderland, and saw in Willamette Week that the Portland Ikea will be handing out Bigfoot air fresheners this week in honor of Earth Day.

In other unsolved Northwest mysteries: on our drive home we stopped by the Ariel Store and Tavern, near where D.B. Cooper supposedly touched down (I previously wrote about him here). Sadly, the place was closed for the evening (and, from the looks of things, might have been closed for some time). All I got was this lousy photo.

My theory: Bigfoot abducted Cooper, then ate him.
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Killer Game Tonight!

We couldn't get tix for yesterday's home opener, so we went tonight. Good stuff. Griffey hit his first home game home run after his return to the Mariners (his 400th career M's homer), and Ichiro made his '09 debut with a grand slam (his first since '03, which I also saw in person). Ichiro's salami tied countryman's Isao Harimoto's record for most career hits by a Japanese-born ballplayer, with 3,085. I got freaky with the Moose (above), and everybody wore 42, though that made scorekeeping a little tricky.

And! The Mariners are off to a 7-2 start, tying the 116-win 2001 M's for the franchise's best-ever start. Deets here.
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Happy 40th, Seattle Pilots!

It was 40 years ago today, April 8, 1969, that the Seattle Pilots made their Major League Baseball debut in Anaheim. They beat the Angels, 4-3, but finished their one and only season with a 64-98 record, before moving to Milwaukee and becoming the Brewers.

Here's my oft-reprinted article summarizing the Pilots' brief, disastrous history, and Mike Fuller's much more comprehensive site. Also, here's the M's in Pilots gear in '06.

Go, Go You Pilots!

Happy Opening Day!

The Mariners open in Minnesota against the Twins at 5 today, though the M's home opener isn't 'til next week.

Eliza and I have attended four out of the last five home openers (all day games, which always seem to be chilly), but couldn't get tickets this year (blame Junior).

But we're going the next night, April 15, which also happens to be tax day, which also happens to be the fifth anniversary of our first date, which also happens to be Ichiro's tentative 2009 debut (he's on the DL with a bleeding ulcer).

So, it should be the first Mariner game with both Ichiro and Griffey in the lineup.

Can't wait.

No Blog Can Contain Bigfoot

Here is a smooved-out version of the infamous Patterson-Gimlin film, with the elusive Bigfoot walking right off the page!

Hey, get back here!!

"A Bigfooter Worth Noting"

Hey, that "Bigfooter" is me!

Such flattery comes courtesy of Cliff Barackman and his North American Bigfoot page.

I'm listed along other "Bigfoot artists" Michael Porter, Richard Beyer, and Paul Graves, who created this killer Bigfoot sculpture.

Click the image for a larger, mind-blowing look.