Monday, February 28, 2011

I Can't Quit You, Quatchi! #2



It's been eight weeks since I put the kibosh on Quatchi Watch, but seeing as how today is the one-year anniversary of the closing of the Vancouver Olympics (as well as the Golden Goal), it's as good a time as any to share a few more Quatchi updates.

The best thing? Meomi just posted a couple of killer clips as a "thank you to all the mascot fans." The Mascot Reel is above and Broadcast Spot Animations is below. Both include some cool action that I hadn't seen before, like Quatchi and Miga curling -- nice!



Along similar lines, here's a flickr set I made of the mascots demonstrating the various Winter Olympics sports...

And here's a cool image recently sent in Johnson Lau; it's kind of a remix of some of Meomi's graphics...

Finally, ladies and gentlemen, unveiled last Saturday, your 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics mascots... yecch!

Long may you run, Quatchi!

UPDATE

If you pause that Mascot Reel video in the right spots, you'll glimpse some rare images. F'rinstance, this one of Quatchi playing hockey, though not minding the net as he usually does...

UPDATE

More great Quatchi deals at 17hours.ca...



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Monday, February 21, 2011

Cool Map Alert

Above is a bit of detail from Ray Troll's "Washington State Fossils" map, which includes four of my favorite topics -- Bigfoot, D.B. Cooper, Mount St. Helens and the Portland Beavers (sort of). See the whole thing here; order a print here.
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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Popular Pike Place Pig Plowed

I'm a couple weeks late with this, an update to my old Do the Collapse post, covering "the Seattle area's decades-long history of man-made structures falling down, exploding, imploding, sinking and whatnot"... Back on February 5, Rachel, the 25-year-old, 550-pound bronze piggy bank at Pike Place Market, was rammed by a taxi -- details.
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Friday, February 18, 2011

Stupid Hockey Shit #2

The Disney-era Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and pretty much everything associated with them (the awkward name, the lame movie tie-in, the suburban SoCal locale, the scary mascot, the ugly uniforms, that shitty logo, etc.). Below, Florida hockey...



A certain pop star...

Score: A Hockey Musical...



Jesus...

The 1986-87 Calgary Flames' Red Hot video...



Pink ice...

And guys like this...


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Happy 46th, Dre!

Dr. Dre hits the big four-six today.

Back in nine-deuce he released The Chronic, which remains my favorite-ever rap album, largely 'cause of its unstoppable videos -- Nuthin' But a "G" Thang, Dre Day and Let Me Ride.

Yeah. Hell yeah.

Of course, he also introduced Snoop Doggy Dogg to the world.
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Thursday, February 17, 2011

Now I've Seen Everything #13: The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger


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Monday, February 14, 2011

Cool Hockey Shit #6

Chuck Canuck and Peter Puck (watch PP episodes 1, 2, 3 and 4)...

Blood on the ice...



The Blackhawks' timeless uniforms...

The Avalanche's Bigfoot shoulder patch...

Ovechkin's yellow laces...

Biz Nasty's tweets...

Mark Recchi (at 43, he's the only active NHL player older than me!)...

And, now and forever, fights...

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Saturday, February 12, 2011

I Can't Quit You, Quatchi!

It's been six weeks since I put the kibosh on Quatchi Watch, but seeing as how today is the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Vancouver Olympics, it's as good a time as any to share a few Quatchi updates.

The best thing? The amazing batch of stuff sent to us all the way from Korea by Sophia at Quatchifan2010, seen in the photo at the top... Custom backpacks, messenger bags, notebooks, drawings, laminated photos, paper craft figures, and some other non-Quatchi-related treats too -- there's more here. Thanks again, Sophia!

Speaking of Quatchifan2010, good to see that Sophia's blog is still going strong. I particularly dig this picture of her Quatchis in Canucks gear...

Also going strong is the mighty Quatch Watch, where Sammers shares Q's adventures in the kitchen and on the road. Like, here's Q representing in his hometown sweater while visiting London's British Museum...

While theirs is not dedicated solely to Quatchi, Shanny & D's blog does feature frequent Quatchi appearances, like his visit to Oregon. Here he is at Portland's Voodoo Doughnuts...

On the more artistic, socially conscious tip, Vancouver's Albert Art has begun The Homeless Quatchi Project, which also has its own Facebook page and flickr set. Albert writes...
Since the Olympics games, Quatchi has ended up on the street, unemployed, and depressed, he became an alcoholic and started experimenting with hard drugs such as crystal meth, and crack cocaine. He had to resort to theft, and panhandling to feed his addiction... Quatchi, a sasquatch from the forests up north came to Vancouver seeking opportunity to provide for his family back home, unfortunately with no more opportunities post-Winter games, he has no where to go and can't seem to get the help he needs to better his situation.

Likewise, on The Blackbird's flickr set, Quatchi was homeless before the Olympics, and Blobfarm depicted a homeless Quatchi during the Olympics. Poor Quatchi.

Over at the Urban Shaman gallery in Winnipeg, photographer Keesic Douglas has a show called Trade Me, which runs through March 19. One of the pictures is this Aboriginal woman with an iconic HBC blanket, appearing to nurse Quatchi...

While the official Vancouver2010 site was shut down shortly after New Year's, all its mascotty stuff is now over here. Which is cool, but I don't know why it's there or how long it'll last. Myself, I imagine I'll do periodic updates here (they'll have a Quatchi tag). Back at Quatchi Watch, I still occasionally update old posts with new bits (they'll have an Update tag like on the Quatchi/cat post that I just added a couple photos to). Lastly, I've been working on a short Quatchi video, so stay tuned for that.

UPDATE

Here's a radio skit by a Vancouver DJ, which aired around the one-year anniversary of the Olympics. It's Quatchi and Mukmuk meeting face-to-face for the first time since the games, discussing a possible mascot reunion. For the audio-impaired, I've transcribed it below...
Woman (Mukmuk's owner?): Alright Mukmuk, someone’s here to see you!

Mukmuk (with typical squeaky voice): Yaaay! … [gasps]

Quatchi (with atypical Brooklyn accent): Heh-heh-heeey, Mukmuk! Give it up!

Mukmuk: Quatchi? What happened to you? You look terrible!

Quatchi: Ah-hah, you always were the funny one, Mukmuk, huh. But uh, but yeah, seriously, I did gain about 160 pounds. Uh, haven’t exactly taken care of myself, but, uh, that’s what happens when you’re a big star one moment, everyone loves ya, and next thing you know, you are 80% off in the discount bin. [inhaling noise]

Mukmuk: Quatchi, you can’t smoke in here!

Quatchi: Aw, c’mon Mukmuk, we’re Olympic mascots – we’re untouchable!

Woman: Quatchi, this is your last warning!

Quatchi: Okay, okay, okay.

Mukmuk: So, how are you doing these days?

Quatchi: Well, you know, I moved to Hollywood, and uh, I found a pretty cool gig on the Boulevard, I take pictures with people for tips. Sure, most people think I’m Chewbacca, but uh, hey, you know, whatever puts the food on the table, right? Hey, by the way, have you heard from Miga recently? He ain’t returning any of my texts.

Mukmuk: Yeah, Miga’s turned into a bit of a [bleep].

Quatchi: Yeah, I just don’t know if this reunion’s a good idea. I mean, it’s just not going to be the same without Sumi, may he rest in peace.

Mukmuk: Damn poachers.
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Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Cool Hockey Shit #5: Special Vancouver Road Trip Edition

On March 30, 1985, my dad and I saw the Flyers beat the Rangers 3-0 at Madison Square Garden. Twenty-one years later, on December 27, 2006, I saw the Canadiens beat the Capitals in D.C. On Monday I attended my third-ever NHL game, witnessing the Canucks beat the Senators 4-2 at Vancouver's General Motors Place Rogers Arena -- here's the official recap. The game also marked my first-ever NHL game in Canada, and the first-ever game I'd seen featuring only Canadian teams. Of course, the only national anthem performed was "O Canada."

Anyway, onto the cool shit, like the Super Chexx at Vancouver's five-pin Commodore Lanes...

This ridiculous Don Cherry Cold-fX ad on the Sensormatic security panels at the giant downtown London Drugs...

A few blocks away, the massive catalog of hockey books at the Vancouver Public Library (this pic of Quatchi with some execs appears in Canucks at Forty)...

Poutine at Costco, right across the street from Rogers Arena...

Goalie Roberto Luongo; after each of his saves, the Canuck faithful exclaim "LOOOOOU!"...

Ryan Kesler, my favorite Canuck...

Fin, seen here with some hoser skank who was born on Vancouver Island on Canada's centennial, July 1, 1967...

Granted Clothing's officially licensed Cowichan chunky sweater...

The enigmatic Green Guys (even if they weren't at Monday's game)...



Finally, a video of my own, set to "The Hockey Song" as covered by Vancouver's D.O.A...



Obviously my iMovie skillz are far from mad, but you get the idea.

It was a killer game, a major highlight of my hockey-obsessed winter. Because I love Vancouver -- home of the nearest NHL team to Seattle -- I've always pulled for the Canucks, but this is an especially great season to fully embrace 'em. In their 40 seasons, they've yet to win the Stanley Cup, though they made it to the finals in 1982 and '94. But this year they're the top team in the league, riding high in the proverbial catbird seat (even though they lost to the Ducks tonight). Can't wait to see what happens.
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Sasquatch Poster Update

Been hearing a lot lately about the lineup for this year's Sasquatch Festival, but the only thing that interests me is the poster art. Monday saw both the release of his year's model (above), and a trailer... Apparently rock shows have trailers now?

A couple of bonus posters: one for the 2010 launch party...

And the other for the 2003 event...

Still can't find the elusive '04 poster, but here's the rest.
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Tuesday, February 08, 2011

We Hardly Knew Ye: The White Stripes

I'm a few days late with this, but Jack and his sister/ex-wife Meg have officially broken up the act.

I first became aware of them while they were riding low on De Stijl, when I sorta saw 'em play an in-store set at Fallout on June 17, 2000 (the joint was jammed, so I stood out on the sidewalk). Beforehand, Jack stormed past me down Olive Way, looking like a man on a rock 'n' roll mission, while Meg sat forlornly against the storefront, smoking a cigarette. A few years later, while they were riding high on Elephant, I saw them play the infinitely larger Stadium Exhibition Hall, on September 16, 2003. However, I was more impressed with openers Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

"Seven Nation Army" has since become a jock jam (I heard an organ rendition of it at tonight's Canucks game), but their best song (as well as best video, directed by Michel Gondry) remains "Fell in Love With a Girl"...



Jack'll do fine, having played with the Raconteurs and Beck and Dead Weather, and producing comeback albums by Loretta Lynn and Wanda Jackson. And since he's apparently all chummy with Mick & Keith (see his Loving Cup cameo in Shine a Light), he's rumored to be producing the Stones in the approximate future...

Dunno what'll happen with underrated and oft-maligned Meg, but wishing her the best.
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Monday, February 07, 2011

We Hardly Knew Ye: Tura Satana

Iconic B-movie queen dead at 72; there's a nice remembrance on Pop Candy.
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Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Happy 58th, Dog!

America's favorite bounty hunter hits the big five-eight today.

I take back what I once wrote about him being racist, 'cause on Wikipedia it says he is now a racial healer.
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Happy Groundhog Day!

Predicting an early spring: Buckeye Chuck, Chuckles, Dunkirk Dave, General Beauregard Lee, Grady the Groundhog, Gus, Jimmy the Groundhog, Malverne Mel, Punxsutawney Phil, Shubenacadie Sam, Staten Island Chuck, Susquehanna Sherman, Wiarton Willie.

Predicting six more weeks of winter: Balzac Billy, Dover Doug, Holtsville Hal, Mountain Maryland Murray, Octoraro Orphie, Poor Richard, Sir Walter Wally, Stormy Marmot, Tumbleweed, Uni, Woody the Woodchuck.

Full results here.
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