I Can't Quit You, Quatchi! #5

Hard to believe it's been four years since Eliza and I began Quatchi Watch, our blog celebrating the cool Sasquatch mascot created by Meomi for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. (Quatchi's co-mascots Miga, Sumi and Mukmuk made guest appearances too.) And it's been well over two years since I've had any Quatchi news on my personal blog. So, with the 2014 Winter Olympics now in full swing, it's high time for another Quatchi update...

Our biggest Quatchi scoop came from poking around the Museum of Vancouver's searchable online database -- he was originally named Zooni (!?!), he had no feet, and his brown, ovoid nose was instead represented by a pair of tiny nostrils, as seen up above... Below, Zooni sports eyebrows as well, something Quatchi never had...

This next one shows how Mukmuk (not Miga) seemed to be Zooni's original partner in crime...

As for the Quatchi we've come to know and love, here's a blurry color guide...

Going back even earlier is this preliminary Zooni/Quatchi sketch...

Typing "Quatchi" into the Museum of Vancouver database search returns 211 results, a big chunk of which are collectible pins. Says the MOV: "We have become well versed in the surprisingly elaborate backstories of Quatchi, Miga, Sumi, and Mukmuk. This is in addition to charting their evolution from simple line drawings to 3D renderings to officially licensed Olympic merchandise and full-sized costumes." I found these two...

The detailed physical descriptions in those costume links are particularly interesting -- I'd love to see a Quatchi "Bound Costume Performance Manual"... The larger-than-life-sized mascots also wore this hockey jersey (follow the link to see the accompanying goalie stick and pads)...

One of the Quatchi costumes, as well as those of Miga and Sumi, were on loan to Vancouver's BC Sports Hall of Fame when I visited in February 2012. Here we all are...

Elsewhere in the Quatchi-verse, the handful of other Quatchi-related sites and blogs have mostly petered out, save for QuatchWatch, where Sammers and her fuzzy companions continue to travel everywhere, bake up a storm, and explore their Toronto home, like at this David Bowie art exhibit...

Quatchi also still appears in regular comic-strip form on the Homeless Quatchi Project, a site that raises awareness about Vancouver's homelessness problem. For whatever reason he's blue instead of brown, maybe because he's cold. Here's a sample...

And a cool .gif...

On TV, our favorite masquatch (to coin a portmanteau) was mentioned in an $800 answer on the November 9, 2011 episode of Jeopardy!... Spoiler alert! The contestant got the correct question -- see for yourself at the 6:37 mark in this video...

Check out this faux horror-movie trailer for Quatchi and the Ghost, featuring a killer homemade costume...

And here's a very short computer animation of Quatchi moseying along...

The most expensive Quatchi item currently on eBay is this four-foot fiberglass figure, listed at $19,999 (plus $799.99 shipping)...

That's about it for now. For those catching up, here are my previous Quatchi updates, from February 12, 2011, February 28, 2011, June 6, 2011, and November 27, 2011, as well as everything on my blog with a Quatchi tag. As usual, there's always more Quatchi stuff to be found on flickr, Pinterest, Pingram, Tumblr, YouTube and so forth. Finally, there's this Facebook page called Long Live Quatchi, which pretty much says it all.
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My Favorite Pop Culture of 2013!

Movies
Of the 32 movies I watched this year, only six were 2013 releases: Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, Don Jon, Jackass Presents Bad Grandpa, This Is the End, Sound City and Star Trek Into Darkness. The Big Star documentary was great; the others ranged from pretty good to meh... I still wanna see Anchorman 2, Frances Ha, Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska, The Punk Singer and some others... As for older movies, I rediscovered Blade Runner, and watched its myriad versions multiple times.

TV
Bob's Burgers became a new favorite. I plowed through all five seasons of Parks and Recreation in a few weeks, and kept current with the latest seasons of Louie and Mad Men. I watched Breaking Bad all the way up through its finale, and while I saw some of the final-season episodes of Eastbound & Down, I haven't yet caught the end. I still watch Saturday Night Live fairly religiously, as I have for the last 25-odd years, mostly out of habit. It's still topical and unpredictable, if not consistently funny.

Rock 'n' Roll
The only 2013 album I regularly played start to finish was David Bowie's The Next Day (unless you count Best Coast's seven-song EP/mini-album thing Fade Away). This led me to revisit all of Bowie's back catalog, which I listened to pretty extensively for much of the year (I played "Station to Station" dozens of times in the car)... Disappointing were new releases by the Pixies, the Strokes, the Replacements and Iggy & the Stooges... However, the 'Mats and the Stooges kicked ass at the Toronto Riot Fest; the only other show I went to this year was a Mudhoney in-store on April Fool's Day... As for older stuff, I sprang for Bob Dylan's 47-disc Complete Album Collection: Vol. One ($197 on Amazon -- that's $4.19 per disc!)... The one album I listened to far more than any other was 1980's Pleasure by Girls at Our Best!. Since I couldn't find the lyrics anyplace, I took a shot at transcribing them here... Other 2013 albums/songs I like:
Camera Obscura -- "Do It Again"
Neko Case -- "Madonna of the Wasps"
Dead Ghosts -- "B.A.D."
Grant Hart -- "Morningstar"
Melvins -- Everybody Loves Sausages, Tres Cabrones
Mudhoney -- Vanishing Point
Thee Oh Sees -- Floating Coffin
Those Darlins -- "Optimist"
Wooden Shjips -- "Ruins"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- Mosquito

Books
Jeez, did I only read two books this year? Yep. Those would be Bebe Day by Day by Pamela Druckerman and Jim Gaffigan's Dad is Fat. Both are related to parenting, which makes sense -- in January I became a first-time dad to twin girls (which also explains why I've been even further out of the pop-culture loop this year)... The Replacements: Waxed-Up Hair and Painted Shoes: The Photographic History looks terrific, though I haven't actually read the text yet. Same with Fan Interference, which is also gathering dust on my nightstand.

Comics
Didn't read many comics either, other than Peter Bagge's Reset, Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half, and A Matter of Life by Jeffrey Brown. All good.

For those keeping score, here are my favorites from 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006 (movies and music).
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We Hardly Knew Ye: Marcia Wallace

Carol Kester from The Bob Newhart Show and Edna Krabappel from The Simpsons is dead at 70.
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We Hardly Knew Ye: Cal Worthington

Though he made his name in Southern California, his commercials aired relentlessly in the Seattle market too. Above is a sample; see many more here. New York Times obit.

Go see Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal.
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Happy 52nd, Eddie!

Eddie Murphy hits the big five-two today.

In the early '80s, the then-shit-hot Murphy could do no wrong: he ruled Saturday Night Live (playing Gumby, Buckwheat, Mr. Robinson, James Brown and Stevie Wonder, among others), he starred in a few decent films (48 Hrs., Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop), and he recorded the novelty classic "Boogie in Your Butt" (above). Pretty much everything since then sucked... What happened?

What made the biggest impression on me by far was his 1983 standup special Delirious. I first saw it at the relatively tender age of 14, after school one day at the home of a pal who taped it off HBO. I'd never heard anything so incredibly filthy in my young life, and despite its grossly homophobic moments, I'd never heard anything so incredibly hilarious either. I don't think I'd even seen a full standup performance before, and though I was too young (and sheltered) to get many of the 22-year-old's jokes, Delirious thoroughly blew my mind.

Watch the whole thing here...



Goonie goo goo.
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My Favorite Music, Movies, Video & Books of '12!

Movies
The Dark Knight Rises
I'm Now: The Story of Mudhoney
Searching for Sugar Man
Notes: Of the 19 movies I saw this year, eleven of which were 2012 releases, and just these three of those I deemed list-worthy... I got myself all psyched for The Amazing Spider-Man, but it turned out to be a proverbial turd in the punchbowl... And the less said about Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, the better.

Video
Breaking Bad: Season 4
Eastbound & Down: Season 3
Get a Life: The Complete Series
Louie: Season 2
Notes: This doesn't include stuff from the "Movies" list above, just TV shows... Still need to see season five of Mad Men, released this year... Can't wait 'til the latest seasons of Breaking Bad and Louie are out on video, hopefully in 2013.


Songs
Best Coast - "Mean Girls"
Dum Dum Girls - "I Got Nothing"
Bob Dylan - "Pay in Blood"
Ben Gibbard - "Ichiro's Theme"
Japandroids - "The House That Heaven Built"
King Tuff - "Bad Thing"
Melvins - "Let Me Roll It"
Bob Mould - "The Descent"
Public Image Ltd. - "One Drop"
The Rolling Stones - "Doom and Gloom"
Soundgarden - "Been Away Too Long"
Bruce Springsteen - "We Take Care of Our Own"
TacocaT - "Cat Fancy"
Thee Oh Sees - "Lupine Dominus"
Jack White - "I'm Shakin'"
Notes: I just don't get into new albums as much as individual songs anymore, though the exception this year would be Best Coast's The Only Place... A couple older acts I became obsessed with in 2012 are the Beach Boys and Hüsker Dü (the first rock concert I ever saw was the Beach Boys, at the Puyallup Fair in 1981 or '82, and I regret not seeing them on their 50th anniversary tour this year; I saw Bob Mould open for the Pixies in '89 (and thought he sucked)... I'm also bummed that I again missed the original Dinosaur Jr. lineup when they came through town... Otherwise, I saw some classic rock bands for the first time (Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, Heart) as well as a couple new favorites (Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls), plus some old standbys (Girl Trouble, Melvins, Young Fresh Fellows).

Books
The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy
Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman
The Obamas by Jodi Kantor
Everybody Loves Our Town by Mark Yarm
Notes: I didn't read much this year. The other ten books I did read were either published in previous years (the best of which was Duff McKagan's It's So Easy (And Other Lies)), or comics...

Comics
The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist by Alvin Buenaventura
Batman: Earth One by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank
Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland by Harvey Pekar
New York Drawings by Adrian Tomine
Notes: I still wanna read Chris Ware's Building Stories.

For those keeping score, here are my favorites from 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006 (movies and music).
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My Favorite Music, Movies, DVDs & Books of '11!

Movies
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Moneyball
Win Win
Notes: Of the 29 movies I watched this year, 12 of which were 2011 releases, but just these three I deemed list-worthy.

DVDs
The Rolling Stones: Some Girls Live in Texas '78
Louie: Season 1
Breaking Bad: Season 3
In Treatment: Season 3
The People vs. George Lucas
Eastbound & Down: Season 2
Lemmy
Don Cherry's Rock'em Sock'em Hockey 23
Notes: This doesn't include stuff from the "Movies" list above; it's mostly either TV shows or films from previous years first released on DVD this year.

Songs
Apex Manor - "Teenage Blood"
The Baseball Project - "Ichiro Goes to the Moon"
Beastie Boys - "Make Some Noise"
Black Keys - "Lonely Boy"
Black Lips - "Noc-a-Homa"
The Dirtbombs - "Cosmic Cars"
HeadCat - "Let it Rock"
JEFF the Brotherhood - "Ripper"
R.E.M. - "We All Go Back to Where We Belong"
Wild Flag - "Something Came Over Me"
Yuck - "Get Away"
Notes: Like last year, I listed songs instead of albums, since really the only new 2011 album that I've found start-to-finish killer is Only in Dreams by Dum Dum Girls (also good: their He Gets Me High EP). Otherwise, my favorite '11 albums are either new reissues of old faves (Some Girls by the Stones), or sorta new-to-me favorites from years past (Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!), neither of which apply... I became obsessed with Devo this year, and saw them in concert in September. Other bands I saw this year were the Black Lips, the Butthole Surfers, and the Baseball Project, where I shot this video.

Books
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training by Josh Wilker
Evel by Leigh Montville
I Want My MTV by Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum
Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper by Geoffrey Gray
Notes: The other 21 books I read this year were either published in previous years, or comics...

Comics
Batman #1
Green River Killer by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case
Huntington, West Virginia “On the Fly” by Harvey Pekar
Old-Timey Hockey Tales by Robert Ullman and Jeffrey Brown
Paying for It by Chester Brown
21: The Story of Roberto Clemente by Wilfred Santiago
Notes: None.

For those keeping score, here are my favorites from 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2006 (movies and music).
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Stupid Hockey Shit #3

Above, Phil Esposito and friends perform "The Hockey Sock Rock" on Thicke of the Night. Below, Mark Messier befriends Gary Coleman...

FoxTrax...



Gretzky hosts SNL...

Shania Twain dressed like a Rocket Richard skankbag...

The Love Guru...



Carey Price's nightmarish Jacques Plante mask...

And finally -- somebody call the SPCA -- it's bears playing hockey...



UPDATE

Unofficial Ottawa Senators mascot, Sensquatch...

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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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Cool Hockey Shit #4

Above, the Original Six. Below, Warhol's Gretzky portrait...

Philadelphia's Broad Street Bullies...

That hot chick on How I Met Your Mother is from Vancouver, and her character often references the 'Nucks...

Johnny Bower's "Honky the Christmas Goose"/"Banjo Mule" single...

Pingu's Ice Hockey...



Coverage by the Onion Sports Network...

Topps' Wacky Packages Hookey...

Playoff beards...

Canada's Heritage Classic...

The classic CCM logo...

The sinister Calgary Hitmen logo...

Don Cherry's Rock’em Sock’em Techno...



And, as always, fights...

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The Simpsons Meet Bigfoot

The Call of the Simpsons (February 18, 1990).
A near-nude Homer is lost in the wilderness. After bees sting him in the mouth and he falls into some mud, a random photographer in the area mistakes the hollering, mud-caked Homer for Bigfoot. The forest quickly becomes a carnival of souvenir stands, burger shacks, and cardboard cutouts: "Get Your Picture Taken with Bigfoot." Homer is eventually hunted down, tranquilized, and taken to a lab for testing. Upon observation, scientists can't discern if Homer really is Bigfoot, or merely "sub-human." A TV news anchor reports that the photographer "was most impressed by the creature's uncivilized look, its foul language, and most of all, its indescribable stench." After a reporter interviews Marge, a tabloid runs articles with the screaming headlines: "I Married Bigfoot," "Bigfoot's Wife Pleads: 'Call Him Homer,'" and "The Bigfoot Diet: 'Pork Chops Aplenty.'" Here's a clip.

Mr. Plow (November 19, 1992).
We see a brief outtake from an upcoming Fox TV special, "In Search of Bigfoot," which spoofs the infamous 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film. Then we hear the off-camera director yell at the guy in the Bigfoot costume, "Hold it Bob, we can see your wristwatch!" Bob looks down at his watch and exclaims, "Aw, dammit." Here's a foreign-language clip (I think it's Spanish).

Homer Bad Man (November 27, 1994).
Facing sexual harassment charges, Homer appears on the tabloid TV news show Rock Bottom. As an aside, he tells the interviewer, "I saw that report you did on Sasquatch. It was fair and even-handed." Homer later asks the interviewer, "Say, can you introduce me to the Sasquatch? I like his style." Sasquatch never appears onscreen, so no images or clips for this one.

The Bart Wants What it Wants (February 17, 2002).
The Simpson family travels to Canada. A bus pulls into a Toronto bus station, and we see a Mountie, a hockey player, Bigfoot, and then the Simpsons themselves disembark. Here's a clip with some rock soundtrack -- blink and you might miss him.

Spanish Fry (July 13, 2003).
This is actually from an episode of Futurama, but since that series also came from the mind of Simpsons creator Matt Groening, close enough. Anyway, the Futurama gang camps out in Duraflame National Forest. It's a National Bigfoot Preserve, where the park ranger shows them a film short, "Bigfoot: Endangered Mystery." True believer Fry, who calls Bigfoot his hero, is saved by the creature at the end of the episode, just as a space monster is about to chop off Fry's "lower horn." Note that Futurama's Bigfoot closely resembles The Simpsons' Barney. Can't find a proper clip, but take a look at this.
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