You Can Fly Anything Right

Ray is a friend of mine. He's also a pilot. I've wanted to get some photos from the air of western Pennsylvania, and he's been dying to go flying. So when the opportunity to go this past Friday came, I jumped at the chance and we went up for a really nice flight. We ended up delayed and the air was more turbulent as a result, but I still think everything went well. Below are the awesome results. 

Taking off!

Hey, there's Lernerville Raceway. 

This is a really nice shot of Freeport, with the Route 356 bridge in the background, the Norfolk Southern bridge over the Allegheny River near the center, and the Kiski Junction's bridge over the Kiskiminetas in the lower right corner. 

Here's Leechburg, and across the Kiski is West Leechburg. Both the highway bridge and the footbridge can be seen clearly. 

We flew as far as Avonmore - here's a good shot of the town with the National Roll aluminum mill quite prominent. The railroad bridge at bottom center is one I didn't even know existed. Unfortunately, it's rather inaccessible.

Here's an empty Shelocta coal train waiting to head back to the mines on the recently-constructed branch line. 

A few minutes later, we happened to see this loaded coal train headed east towards the Conemaugh Dam. A large portion of the railroad line was relocated in the 1960's to accommodate the higher waters east of the dam. 

Shot of the day! We had to circle about four times waiting for the train to cross the bridge, but for this, it was worth it. The stone arch bridge beneath the newer railroad bridge is on the line's old alignment which is now a bike trail. 

Heading back, we passed the mothballed West Leechburg plant, once operated by Allegheny Ludlum. 

By contrast, the Baghdad plant still operates - as a matter of fact, we happened to catch Kiski Junction using their new switcher locomotive to work the plant. It's the red object at the center of the photo. 

The last major photo I took was of Schenley. The KJR bridge over the Kiski is at bottom, Lock and Dam No. 5 is at left,  and prominent in the photo are two of the last buildings from the whiskey distillery that once operated here. 

Our intrepid pilot.

Thanks, Ray!

There's Definitely No Logic To Human Behavior

Questions, Questions I Can't Answer

Maybe you can help me with these. I'm at a loss.

What is that spice you find every once in a while in certain brands of pepperoni that tastes like licorice?

Hey, Colin Meloy - what is Decemberism, anyway?

What would happen if, instead of anesthetic, you were given a synesthetic before surgery?

Who else has the irresistible urge to pronounce the frequently asked questions page (FAQ) as 'fuck you'?

Is Husker Du considered heavy metal? I can't tell just from listening.

Whenever I watch one of the new Star Trek movies, why do I keep wanting to call Lieutenant Uhura 'Princess Uhura'?

How come every time I say something crazy, people take it to mean I'm normal? (Or, by what standard do they judge such outbursts?)

Why does my job give me heartburn? (It's not like I'm eating it. [Oh, wait, I know the answer to this one.])

He Says "What You Want This Time?"

Whiskey is liquid sunshine.

-George Bernard Shaw

I like to get hammered on Friday night
Sometimes I can't wait so Monday's all right

-Neil Young

'Mixologist' is a stupidly unnecessary word. 'Bartender' got along just fine for decades without any help, thank you very much - excepting the bouncer, of course.

-Unknown

...the solution doesn't involve watering down my every little idea and creative impulse for the sake of someday easing my fit into a mold...this is very important, so I want to say it as clearly as I can: FUCK. THAT. SHIT.

-xkcd

I've waited too long to have you hide in the back of me
I've cheated so much I wonder how you keep track of me

-Guided By Voices

He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.

-Sir Winston Churchill

Maj. Strasser: What is your nationality?
Rick: I'm a drunkard.
Capt. Renault: That makes Rick a citizen of the world...

-from Casablanca

Alcohol is no different from a guitar amplifier - it just makes the music in your head louder.

-Unknown

I ain't seen my baby since I don't know when
I been drinking bourbon whiskey, scotch and gin

-George Thorogood And The Destroyers

I drank to drown my sorrows, but the damned things learned how to swim.

-Frida Kahlo

There is nothing dangerous about the merely mundane. It is just a kind of emptiness...

-Enklinobarangus

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

-from Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

I've been sittin' here drinkin'
I'm just as lonesome as a man can be

-Muddy Waters

Lord Hinjo: Nothing says 'Condolences on the loss of your uncle' like a ninja death squad in the night.

-from Order Of The Stick

You pour six jiggers of gin into a glass and then you drink it while staring at a picture of Lorenzo Schwartz, the inventor of vermouth.

-'Hawkeye' Pierce

All good drinkers write. 

-Unknown

She's whiskey in a teacup
She gives blondes a lousy name

-Tom Waits

Thanks to Whiskey & Misanthropy for the inspiration.

The Boys Are Back In Town

This sounds like a joke. To most comics readers, the premise of Archie Andrews and Frank Castle sharing space in the same comic - the same story! - sounds like a complete farce. One of the most violent anti-heroes in comics' history with the most wholesome teenager ever? Get real. Besides, Punisher's a Marvel character, and Archie has his own eponymous publisher. They'd never come to an agreement that would let this be printed, right?

It exists.

As the editor's pages clearly state, it began as a joke, but by the summer of 1994, Batton Lash, Jon Buscema, and Stan Goldberg had created the world's most bizarre comics crossover. The plot followed the Punisher, hot on the heels of an East Coast drug dealer known as 'Red'. The kicker is that 'Red's description is a match for everyone's favorite average teenager Archie Andrews - and the trail leads straight to Riverdale. (Hijinks ensue.)

If you still think I'm making this up, I can assure you I'm not.

Look out behind you, Frank! It's a teenager!

I own the damn thing. I ended up getting the Archie-printed cover, and until recently I didn't even know that there was a second, Marvel variant cover.

Apparently, this led to a minor trope of Archie crossovers, including meeting the Predator, KISS, the cast of Glee (which does make some sense), the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Archie Comics now owns the license to the current TMNT comics), and Jason of the Friday The 13th film franchise (under the title Archie at Crystal Lake). Better yet, while doing some reading, I found reference to other crossovers such as The Punisher Meets Eminem, an issue of The Avengers where the eponymous team appears on The Late Show with David Letterman, Superman Vs. Popeye, Groo The Wanderer Vs. Conan, and of all things, Superman and the Nesquik Bunny.

And I thought Archie Meets The Punisher was a spoof.

Turned Upon Me, Took Me By The Hair

I noticed that an old, and very good, post of mine has been getting some attention recently. It concerned the TV bumpers Cartoon Network used to use for the Adult Swim block back in 2007-08. They were fairly creative, in my opinion. Most of them used a tilt-shift photography technique in order to make the subject of the photo appear to be a model. I actually stayed up with my old point-and-shoot camera to record this intriguing bit of TV ephemera. Since there seems to be a bit of interest in the idea, I decided to post the entire series just for the heck of it.

And here's a random scene from Inuyasha just for the hell of it. 

This Is My Life In The Crazy Robot Man Reservation

Something that I stumbled upon while browsing the Contemptible Cover article on TV Tropes. I was reading about Boris Vallejo doing art for FASA's Battletech sci-fi wargaming franchise's tie-in novels. And one link, mentioning how Vallejo's approach to the 'Battlemechs' of the series wasn't exactly detailed... or realistic... Well, the below cover caught my eye, but for no reason that involves Battletech whatsoever. 

The 'mech' on the left, I have no idea what the fuck it is. (Realism, Vallejo, realism!) But the 'mech' on the right... it's a dead ringer for the Glaug Officers' Battlepod of Robotech/Macross fame. What the fuck is a Macross mecha doing on the cover of a Battletech novel?

It's actually quite simple. When Battletech was being developed, the designers 'borrowed' giant robot and mecha designs from various anime series including Super Dimension Fortress Macross, which had not been licensed in America at the time. Speculation abounds (though I can find no hard reference) that there was a lawsuit brought or threatened by Harmony Gold, owners of the Robotech franchise (which included the original Macross series) which prompted FASA to abandon the 'borrowed' material. A later owner of the game property claimed that they had secured the rights to all of the so-called 'Unseen' mechs, except for the Macross properties. Harmony Gold put paid to that.

Sometimes I Go Whole Days Listening Bored, Half Asleep

So the 'Lion Series' of mix CDs gets another addition. The basics for this one were coming to me randomly at work over the past few weeks.

Roi, I hope you don't mind another disc spinning your way next I see you.

The Lion Series, Vol. 3: Entertainingly Difficult

1. It's Nice To Know You Work Alone - Silversun Pickups
2. Don't Pretend You Didn't Know - Dinosaur Jr. 
3. Lost At Home - The Sun
4. Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger
5. Song 2 - Blur
6. Hang Wire - The Pixies
7. That's When I Reach For My Revolver - Mission Of Burma
8. We Real Cool - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
9. Voodoo - Godsmack
10. Half Asleep - School Of Seven Bells
11. The Mountain Range In My Living Room - The Early November
12. Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt - We Are Scientists
13. Believe - The Chemical Brothers
14. At 1 A.M. - The Subways
15. Only To Haunt You - The Von Bondies
16. Sad And Lonely - Secret Machines
17. Allergic (To Thoughts Of Mother Earth) - Placebo
18. Mountain Side - The Flaming Lips
19. Rill Rill - Sleigh Bells