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"Keep eating McDonald's, and you'll be THIS wide!"

Every year I tell myself that I am not going to play the McDonald’s Monopoly promotion.  And every year, I end up playing it anyway.  It starts off innocently.  I swing by McDonald’s and I tell myself, “You were going to eat here anyway.  Go ahead and get a few Monopoly pieces while you are here.”  I know I’m not going to win.  I would have better odds of winning the state lottery, but I just can’t resist.  Soon, I am telling myself, “Get a large fries.  Two more pieces!”  Before long I’m scanning trash cans to see if the game pieces are still attached to the cups inside.  Needless to say, these endeavors are both disgusting and fruitless.

The main thing that gets me angry is the online portion of the contest.  It works in the same way as the Monopoly board game, in which you are rewarded if you are capable of gathering a Monopoly (all of the properties of a certain color).  However, the online game is rigged such that you can never win.  Now, perhaps this is not correct, but I just don’t have any other explanation for it.

Here is my board from the online game.  You’ll notice that I am one property away from a Monopoly on every property color, except for the light blue properties.  Just from random chance, I should be able to get at least one Monopoly considering that I have entered 56 codes.  Yes, 56 is a lot of Monopoly pieces.  I’m not proud of that.  However, that means I have rolled the dice 56 times, not counting doubles.  It usually takes around 6 or 7 or rolls to get around the board, so my poor little dog token has circled the board almost 10 times in a fruitless quest to get a monopoly.  And, interestingly enough, the coveted properties that would give me the monopoly are the same properties that I don’t have in my actual game pieces.  It’s rigged, I tell you, rigged!

And yet, I can’t stop playing.  Thankfully, the contest is almost over, so I can go on my McDiet until they bring back this contest next year.

I have been enjoying the past several days spending time with my family in southern WV.  One of the things we like to do when we get together is play the card game, Rook.

Why can't I get this card, the 1, and the 14 every hand?

I enjoy the game, because even though it is a very simple game, it is hard to master, and it is different every time.  It is fast-paced, allowing you to play many games in one sitting.  And, when you win, or have a great hand, it is a great feeling.

But the game is also extremely frustrating.  Sadly, there is a lot of luck involved with Rook, so if you don’t get a good hand, or none of your team gets a good hand, you just can’t win — it’s over before it starts.  Also, while it can be funny when people keep forgetting what the trump color is, it can also get a little annoying, especially if you are behind.

Oh, Rook…why do you have to be so fun and so frustrating?

According to folklore, cutting open a persimmon seed will tell you what kind of winter we are going to have.  I don’t know if I buy that, but it’s interesting, as far as folklore goes.  Apparently, when you cut open a persimmon seed, there will either be the shape of a knife, a spoon, or a fork.   What do the shapes mean?

Knife: If the shape inside the seed is that of a knife, it is believed to mean the winter will be cutting cold — so cold the wind feels like its cutting right through you like a knife.

Spoon: When the shape inside the seed looks like a spoon it is said to mean it will be a heavy winter. The spoon represents lots of shoveling.

Fork: The appearance of a fork shape within the seed is believed to mean that winter will be easy with only a light dusty of snow.

So I was out with family today, and we visited Tom Sparks cemetery in Rockridge, near the head of Bradshaw Mountain.  It was a beautiful, peaceful cemetery.  A large persimmon tree, full of ripe persimmons, dominated one corner of the cemetery.  Curious about the folklore, my father cut one of the seeds open.  The verdict?

It's a spoon!

It’s a spoon!  Thus, it is going to be a winter with heavy snow.  At least, according to the persimmon seed.  We’ll see!

It looks like BoingBoing.net has picked up my video on their website, which has led to multiple tweets, facebook shares, etc. I didn’t expect this much attention, but I am grateful. It encourages me to do more YouTube videos (not necessarily with the Hitler meme, but I am sure I can come up with something). For those who are wondering about “The Dreamers” video, you can read more about it here. Thanks again for visiting!

I am something of a Disney purist (a ‘dis-nerd’, if you insist), so you can imagine my dismay when I read an article this morning that Disneyland is updating their “It’s a Small World” ride at the Anaheim park.  This appears to be similar to the changes that they made to Hong Kong Disneyland’s ride last year.

Here are a couple of pictures of the new and ‘improved’ ride.

I only hope that Walt Disney World doesn’t follow suit and update their ride as well.  I would hope that there is one thing in the park that is ‘off-limits’ to updates.  I thought that it was the castle in Walt Disney World, but with the addition of the extra-special guest bedroom, that is apparently not the case. What’s next?  Updating the Peter Pan ride to reflect Tinkerbell’s adventures in her schlocky direct-to-DVD adventures?  Throwing Jack Sparrow into the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (oh, too late, they did that already).  I know times are tough, Disney, but this isn’t the answer.

Sometimes I like to browse through antique stores and thrift shops.  Often I go with my parents (who enjoy going through these stores and finding some bargains) because I like to look for interesting and/or strange items.  You’d be surprised at just how much weird junk is out there when you really start looking for it.  I was once at a huge antique store, and I found a picture of these two clowns opening up an old chest, with the ghost of a clown popping out of the chest, and I have regretted not purchasing that picture ever sense.  Although not at an antique store (it was at a comic book convention), I also once passed up the chance to purchase a picture of Poppin’ Fresh (a.k.a., the Pilsbury Doughboy) walking along a beach with the Golden Age Green Lantern (both were created by the same artist, Martin Nodell).  Yes, it was as excellent as it sounds. (Sorry for all of the parentheses.  I have to use my quota for the week).

 However, I have to say that I hit the jackpot on a recent trip.  Check out this creepy TV tray.

How creepy is this thing?  I gotta tell you, I love stuff like this.  The weirder and creepier, the better.  And I find that the more you look at this thing, the creepier it gets.  Let’s look at this cast of characters (going clockwise starting at the top left).

OK, to be honest, there isn’t too much creepy about this guy.  Still, it is strange that there is such an odd menagerie of creatures all crammed into this picture.  In addition, this is one of only two animals in this picture who is not dressed in human clothing, possibly denoting that he is an actual animal as opposed to an anthropomorphic creature.  Is this bird there of his own accord, or is he owned by the bear sitting in the chair?  Who knows?

The bear is obviously the patriarch and central figure of this group.  He has the position of authority as the only beast sitting in furniture with his own food and drink.  He is wearing glasses, possibly to give him an appearance of wisdom.  He is staring off to the left, possibly at the bird perched on his chair.  But is he smiling, or growling?  I love over-analyzing crap like this, so bear with me.  If this isn’t your thing, then stop reading now, because it’s just going to get more ridiculous.

The wolf is likely another authority figure, denoted by the tie.  He has one of the creepier expressions of the figures depicted with his broad grin.  He is holding a glass of milk and appears to be indicating something about it, as he isn’t looking at anyone else in particular.  His almost feminine look may represent him as the maternal figure in this image.

The rabbit is one of the creepiest figures in the picture.  The look in his eyes is maniacal, almost menacing.  He is smiling about something, but he doesn’t look happy at all.  He is yet another authority figure as well, but he is placed next to the TV, as if he is in charge of it.  Is this possibly a joke about “rabbit ears” on the television?  Is he forced to stand in that position to ensure that the television gets good reception?

The clown on the television is what the eye is drawn to on the far right of the picture.  Now, I have always thought clowns are creepy (downright scary in some settings), and this clown is no exception.  Look at that smile!  He appears to only have one tooth on the bottom of his mouth.  His ears are much too large for his head.  And his eyes are staring right out of the picture and into your soul.  He knows your darkest fears, and it makes him laugh.

The dalmatian is the other animal in the picture that is not dressed as a human, possibly indicating that he is indeed an animal and not some strange fairy-tale half-human, half-beast hybrid.  He appears to be crouched in a defensive posture, as if he is barking at something.  Following his gaze, he is probably barking at the clown on the television (or possibly the rabbit standing next to the television).  Animals are often aware of danger that humans miss.  Does the clown pose a danger to this assembled gathering of creatures?  Of course he does.  And the dalmatian knows it.

The monkey is the only child-like figure in the picture, indicated by his clothing.  He is strangely hairless for a monkey, possibly emphasizing his position as the child of the group.  He is wearing a dopey expression of joy, and is no doubt very happy to be watching the clown on the television.  Strangely enough, he is the only figure in the picture who is watching the television (other than the dog of course).  Perhaps, like most young children, he is too young to fear the clown.  He is to naive to perceive of the threat and the terror that the clown represents.  But he will learn.  The clown will make sure he learns.

The tv tray…well, it isn’t really creepy.  However, I just love the thought of a tv tray being included in an image placed on a tv tray.

Well, that caps off my admittedly self-indulgent analysis of this creepy tv tray.  Do you know of any other creepy images similar to this?  If so, I’d love to see them.  Please comment on this blog and let me know about it!  Thanks for reading, and, as always…beware the clown.