Happy 51st, Chris!

All-around funny guy Chris Elliott hits the big five-one today.

Just finished Daddy's Boy, and have moved on to The Shroud of the Thwacker. Into Hot Air is next.

I have never watched a single episode of Everybody Loves Raymond.
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More New Flickr Sets!

Media guides for the Seahawks and the Sonics.
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We Hardly Knew Ye: Gil Scott-Heron

Didn't know much about him, except that I love "Whitey on the Moon"...



...and "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"...


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Apropos of Nothing #1

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Your Western Conference Champion Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks beat the Sharks last night to win the Western Conference championship and advance to the Stanley Cup final for the third time in their 40-year history. Ryan Kesler scored a game-tying goal with 14 seconds left in regulation, and Kevin Bieksa scored the freakish game-winner in the second overtime. Also, Roberto Luongo stopped 54 of 56 shots... Luuuu!

Still, the Canucks have never actually won the cup, losing to both the Islanders in 1982 and again to the Rangers in '94, but they're looking great this year. This is gonna be killer.
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Bigfoot Action Figure Update

I'd like to amend my earlier statement that the only thing I like about the annual Sasquatch Festival is the poster art. I also like the Salvatore the Sasquatch action figure, released to promote this year's festival. I picked one up tonight, a welcome addition to my out-of-date Bigfoot Menagerie.

Salvatore came packaged with his human pal George -- watch the two of them together in this video...


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Treehizzy!

For our second anniversary we stayed in this treehouse last night - highly recommended! We also had lunch at the Fall City Roadhouse and dinner at the Woodman Lodge in Snohomish -- both recommended as well.

Nearby Snoqualmie Falls was raging...

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New Flickr Set: Major League Ballparks

My love of both baseball and aerial photos inspired my latest flickr set: Google Maps satellite images of all 30 big-league ballparks... L@@K!
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Way to Go, Canucks!

Ryan Kelser leads Vancouver past the Nashville Sexual Predators to Round 3 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Kesler's a fucking horse.



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Happy 80th, Willie!

The greatest living ballplayer hits the big eight-oh today.
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Farm Report: Tacoma Rainiers vs. Portland Beavers Tucson Padres

Last night I went to my first Pacific Coast League game since last year's last-ever Portland Beavers game, and my first Tacoma Rainiers game since a Rainiers-Beavers tilt last July. In the meantime, the Rainiers won the PCL championship, while the Beavers moved to Tucson and became the Padres (the Rainiers' opponent last night). But I was mainly interested in seeing Cheney Stadium for the first time following its major off-season renovation.

For starters, the exterior is totally different -- the new luxury suites make it appear more like an office building than a ballpark. But it definitely looks better than it used to, and I especially dig these Native American-styled salmon sculptures around the outside...

The renovated concourse is far nicer, and I'm glad the time capsule is still on the premises...

In the stands, the overhang is much smaller, providing a lot less shelter. Otherwise, the interior changes aren't as dramatic. The old concrete bowl feels a bit modernized with all its new seats, but looking out on the field, Cheney is more or less the same....

The Ben Cheney statue still sits in the stands, in a small section preserving some of Cheney's old wooden seats...

However, I suspect some finishing touches are still on the way. Like, it's weird that there aren't the usual ads plastered all over the luxury suites and press box (not that I'm complaining), and the concrete dugouts aren't even painted. Here, Rhubarb entertains on the Padres' bare dugout during the seventh-inning stretch...

Rhubarb and later I bumped fists.

I ate a Rainier Dog and bought a Rainiers cap and picked up a Rainiers schedule for my collection, featuring future Mariner second baseman Dustin Ackley...

Ackley contributed a grand slam to Tacoma's come-from-behind 7-6 win. Also, Mariner Franklin Gutierrez played DH, on a rehab assignment following his recent struggles with irritable bowel syndrome.

Nice to see that the Padres still have many of the Beavers from last year (Luis Durango, Luis Perdomo, Will Inman, etc.), as well as the same manager, Terry Kennedy. They'll stay in Arizona through 2012, after which they move to their permanent home in Escondido, California, playing in a new ballpark near my dad's house.

Final note: on the drive to Tacoma and back I listened to former Beaver radio guy Rich Burk's Pastime Radio, where I got to hear what it'd sound like if he traveled back in time to call game three of the 1947 World Series. Nice to listen to Rich's play-by-play again (albeit for an ersatz broadcast), along with his newfound, post-Beavers perspective. Be careful what you wish for.
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We Hardly Knew Ye: Jim Mandich

The most famous guy with my last name passed away last Tuesday at age 62. That's him catching a Bob Griese pass in Super Bowl VII. I previously wrote about him here.
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Batman Meets Evel Knievel Devil Dayre

Batman #264, June 1975: Dunno how this escaped my attention 'til I stumbled across it on eBay last week, but I bought it right away. Click images to embiggen them...

Al "Devil" Dayre was scheduled to jump Torres Canyon, much like the Snake River Canyon that Evel attempted to jump in September 1974. But, for some unknown reason, Batman did the jump instead. The rocket landed in the water, but Batman couldn't be found; only his costume was recovered...

Then a bunch of other stuff happened.

Then we learn that Dayre faked his own kidnapping 'cause he was scared to do the jump, and that the ransom money would've paid him handsomely anyhow. Later, after Batman did the jump, he escaped in scuba gear before any rescuers could find him. At the end, Batman chased down Dayre for a final confrontation...

Then Dayre apparently died after crashing his motorcycle through a window.
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It Was 25 Years Ago Today: Expo '86 Opens

For awhile there, the Northwest hosted a World's Fair every dozen years: Seattle's Century 21 Exposition in 1962, then Spokane's Expo '74, and finally Vancouver's Expo '86, which opened 25 years ago today. Though I was alive for the latter two, I didn't go to either one (for that matter, I haven't been to any World's Fairs). But Expo '86 was the first one I was at least conscious of, though about all I remember was Jean Enersen's live reports.

Expo Ernie was the mascot (image found here)...

And here's the temporary monorail...

When I was in Vancouver in February I found this time capsule...

Many celebrities attended the star-studded fair, including Archie and his pals...

For more, check out this fan site.
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