2012: The Year of the Chickens!

In this, the last of this blog's measly 26 posts in 2012, I'll recap the stuff I've covered over the previous year, along with some things I didn't address. For starters, in February, Eliza and I installed a chicken coop in our backyard, and then brought home four two-month-old pullets: Rocky, Dolly, Rhodey, and Li'l Sweetie (above, shot by Eliza). Sadly, Rocky and Dolly succumbed to Marek's Disease, but Sweetie and Rhodey have thrived - since May, those gals have pumped out a whopping 334 eggs!

In other bird news, a day after Rocky was put to sleep, three robins were hatched in a nest by our back porch. Here are two of the eggs...

Within a day, all three robin chicks were eaten by some goddamn crows.

In non-bird deaths, in 2012 we said goodbye to the Beastie Boys and Ween, Ralph McQuarrie, and John Belushi (albeit 30 years after the fact). Also passing this year, but unacknowledged by this blog, were Matt Groening's Life in Hell, and the Seattle TV clown who inspired Krusty the Clown on Groening's The Simpsons, JP Patches... In July was I driving through the U-District when I happened upon the demolition of the UW's Lander Hall, a dormitory where I lived for a couple years in my late teens and did many grown-up, um, things, that I never done before...

Celebrating birthdays in 2012 were Paul Stanley and Muhammad Ali, as well as the 50th anniversaries of Mad, the Rolling Stones, the Seattle Monorail, the Seattle World's Fair and Spider-Man, along with the 25th anniversaries of Pleased to Meet Me and the 1987 NBA All-Star Game.

On top of this being the sixth full calendar year of the SteveMandich.com blog, I continued to maintain two other blogs -- Super Ichiro Crazy! (where the big news was his trade from Seattle to the Yankees) and Bigfoot is Real (which I just put on "temporary hiatus"). Upon the (galaxy) golden anniversary of the Seattle World's Fair, I started a commemorative blog. It was soon aborted, due to lack of both interest and inspiration. Still, I came away with this cool photo of some Space Needle models, taken at an art gallery near the Needle itself...

I visited Minnesota and New Mexico in 2012, though I didn't blog about my April SoCal trip -- in San Diego I met up with another Steve Mandich, a swell guy who's a credit to our name...

In Anaheim, my pal JP and I saw the Edmonton Oilers beat the Ducks, and the next night, we saw the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Kings beat the Oilers in L.A. I stupidly lost all my photos from those games, so here's a picture I took of the Watts Towers...

Earlier, and closer to home, I rode the Amtrak Cascades up to Vancouver, where I witnessed the Canucks beat the Coyotes in an overtime shootout. While in town, I attended the Vancouver International Boat Show, if only to see the insides of the revamped BC Place Stadium...

Here's another Vancouver photo, taken in Stanley Park...

In medical news, my Morton's toe that I viciously stubbed in 2004 finally got fixed in October -- the good foot doctor shaved away some arthritic bone and inserted a temporary three-inch pin. Here's a gnarly pic of how it looked a week after surgery...

Though 2012 was the Year of the Chickens, Eliza and I figure 2013 will be the Year of the Babies -- we're expecting fraternal twin girls on January 9! Here we are in our backyard on Thanksgiving...

Going into the new year, if I'm not blogging about it here, I'll be posting it on facebook.

As always, thanks for reading!
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I Can't Quit You, Quatchi! #4

In celebration of Quatchi's fourth birthday -- it was November 27, 2007 when he was first introduced to the world, along with his Vancouver Winter Olympics mascot pals Miga and Sumi -- here's a roundup of my latest Quatchi findings.

Kicking things off is this killer Quatchi toy (above) that was posted on etsy. Other creative folks have rendered Quatchi in ceramic, leather, and, uh, keychain. I still come across the occasional Quatchi illustration, like these Canucks-themed drawings made during Vancouver's Stanley Cup run last spring. (See more Quatchi-themed art at deviantART). Less original, but possibly more useful, are these Quatchi icons of various sizes.

Over at Quatchifan2010, Sophia's massive Quatchi clan continues to have fun since moving from Korea back to Canada...

Elsewhere in the blogosphere, Sammers' Q, along with new pal Mini Q, continue to cook up a storm and travel the globe on Quatch Watch. Incidentally, Mini Q is the only Quatchi I've seen whose nose is not only off-center, but also above his eyes!

I've also discovered some Quatchi-tagged posts on tumblr, like this funny gif...



And here's a video of Quatchi wandering down Bourbon Street, where he meets up with some drunk girls...



Be careful, Quatchi!

Finally, it's great to see that Quatchi designer Meomi remains busy with the Octonauts and their other cool projects.

Wherever Quatchi is, I'm sure he'll spend today cheering on his hometown BC Lions in La Coupe Grey.
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Way to Go, Canucks!

Too bad Vancouver fell short of winning the Stanley Cup last night (and too bad about that bonehead riot as well), but I had a blast jumping onto their bandwagon this year.
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I Can't Quit You, Quatchi! #3

I'm super-delighted that Meomi coaxed Quatchi out of semi-retirement to cheer on the Canucks during the Stanley Cup final... And look! Mukmuk is a Green Man Marmot!!

Meanwhile, Dub sent me these photos of a sweet Quatchi birthday cake she made. Below is what the cake figurine looked like after her son ate Quatchi's foot and a good portion of his head...

Dub also made these cool cupcakes...

Finally, I love Harkem's Quatchi Hug...

UPDATE

Here's Summertime Quatchi...

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Cool Hockey Shit #8: Special Canuck Fan Edition

In honor of Vancouver's return to the Stanley Cup final tonight, here are some of this year's coolest Canucks fans... Above, whoever threw a salmon on the ice; below, the Hockey Luvin Homos...

The chick who flashed a Sharks player in the penalty box...

Diana Krall and Elvis Costello...

And, of course, Sully and Force, better known as the Green Men...

I'm stoked about the finals -- it's gonna be killer!
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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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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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Cool Stuff Now!

Two killer items were officially released today: the new Evel Knievel biography by Sports Illustrated senior writer Leigh Montville (above), and the Rolling Stones' The Singles: 1971-2006 box set (below)...

First impressions: the Evel bio is twice as long as mine, though I'm pleased to see that Montville still found room for a shout-out:

I seemed to refer often to Evel Incarnate, a fine book by Steve Mandich that lays out the grid of the famous daredevil's life. Mandich also has a website, SteveMandich.com, that contains all things Knievel. Highly recommended.

Sweet. I'm also glad that Montville didn't perpetuate Evel's bullshit coma story, which has been erroneously repeated by The New York Times and pretty much every other major news outlet. Especially nice that he credited this very blog with its debunking...

Knievel biographer Steve Mandich noted in his SteveMandich.com blog that within two years [of Evel's Caesars Palace crash] a story appeared in the September 1969 issue of Science and Mechanics claiming that Knievel "suffered a severe brain concussion." The statement quickly grew from there to an almost routine Knievel reponse that he had been in a coma for twenty-nine days after the Caesars Palace crash. A basic part of his story, totally bogus, was that he landed in Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital in a coma and woke up twenty-nine days later and was famous.

I'll post a full review of the book once I've read it.

As for the Stones box, I already own most of the stuff on there, but there are still a bunch of B-sides I haven't heard (as well as, um, eight different mixes of "Out of Control," a tune that wasn't so hot to begin with). Also, I'm a sucker for the nifty packaging. So there.

Lastly, the Canucks finally vanquished the longstanding burr in their playoff saddle, the Chicago Blackhawks, in tonight's thrilling game seven overtime win. Alex Burrows (below) netted both Vancouver goals.

The 'Nucks dodged a fucking bullet. Next up: the Nashville Sexual Predators.
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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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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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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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