The Buzz about Woody.

I was looking over my Kubrick Buzz Buzzard and a thought came to me, "Were Woody & Buzz of Toy Story fame named after Woody Woodpecker and Buzz Buzzard?" Doubtful. Woody was named after Woody Strode the cowboy-movie star and Buzz after Aldrin. OR according to another Google search, "In 1952, Walt Disney hired 2 men from the Stanford Research Institute to find the site of the park and do preliminary load studies. Their names: Economist Harrison “Buzz” Price and CV “Woody” Wood!" Irregardless, I do like my Kubrick Buzz.

This came out around 2003, just as The New Woody Woodpecker Show was winding down. Ooh, there's an Oswald out there somewhere...

The set consists of 5 characters from the show and appears to have been a UFO Catcher exclusive.

Here's an X-Mas episode of the show.

I immediately caught the voice of the landlady as Andrea Martin, I never could decipher Buzz. Aha! Mark Hamill doing a Joker/Buzzard hybrid. There are a few lines from Fargo in this. Cool.

About a decade ago, I visited USJ in Osaka and wandered through the Woody room. I may have pictures somewhere though I'm way too disorganized to find them. I vaguely recall watching this interactive documentary.

I ended up watching The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini last night. Highlights were of course Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff, though Eric von Zipper was fun too. Needs more Nancy Sinatra! Beware, it's neither funny nor scary!

Hmm, bedtime soon, what should I watch tonight?

Kuru-Kuru!

Do you remember Weebles? Those egg-shaped characters that couldn't fall down? Japan has recently released their own version called Coo'nuts. It's a potentially poorly named brand if you're a tad racist, otherwise the name comes from its Peanut shape and its roly-poly nature, kuru-kuru.

I first got a Disney-Girls one on sale and landed Tinkerbell.

A few days, later I took a trip to Fukushima and discovered Marvel Coo'nuts. I bought as many as I could at that convenience store and went to several other Conbini as well that day. But alas, I couldn't complete my set. It wasn't until a few weeks later that I found them at a Supermarket and managed to score my missing Gamora and Thanos.

They're so wobbly, it's difficult to take a proper photo, so I scammed one from the website.

Click the link above for a few more pics.

For your amusement, I made a little video of my 'Nuts in action.



When I first learned of the term Kuru-Kuru, it reminded me of a famous Canadian tune:



There are several other brands of Coo'Nuts, such as Peanuts (natch), Doraemon, Pokemon and Minions. Check 'em out!

REVISION!
I'd forgotten that I'd purchased this a few weeks ago and just opened it now. I am NOT disappointed in scoring Marcie.

Oom-Pah-Pa!

I popped into the former location of Yodobashi Camera, now a current location of a summer-long Oktoberfest and quaffed a few overly expensive pints with Alex. This would make a great place for a rave though the music played  today was more Shmenge than Kraftwerk.

Personally, I thought this band was better than the authentic German troupe that we normally get for the occasion. Great yodeler, an Alpine horn player, accordians & bells! Had there been less than the 99% male in attendance and a few more potential polka partners, I might still be there dancing up a storm.

The Oktoberfest August/ Septemberfest is only there until September 2nd so if you'd like a bit of German hospitality, head on down! They serve up some traditional Deutsche fare as well, try some Cabbage Rolls & Coffee, Mm Mm Good!

Vikings & Reindeer!

What's better than CupNoodles with a free OnePiece diorama? CupNoodles with a free OnePiece diorama for sale at half price!

What's better than a bottle of PepsiNext that comes with a OnePiece character? A bottle of PepsiNext that comes with a OnePiece character for half price! These are the Jungle edition, too bad I only got two of them but when regular price is ￥980, 1/2 price is still pretty steep.

What's even better than a bottle of PepsiNext that comes with a OnePiece character? A bottle of PepsiNext that comes with a OnePiece character for a quarter the price! Better still is the Viking version that was 1/4 the price. Too bad there was only one left, but it's the best one!

I don't have any footage of Vikings & Reindeer, so how about Vikings & Beekeepers instead!

ps. I am getting really annoyed with either my photo uploader, Blogger, Adobe or Photoshop but why do they keep tilting my photos? When I take the photo, it's fine but then when Blogger gets it, it's been rotated! Annoying!!

I Love Candy!

We're all familiar with SCTV for who didn't watch them in their heyday in the late 70s? It's impossible to choose a favourite, so I'll just pick John Candy because, pound for pound, he is one funny guy.

(Tangent time:) Back in High School, one of my duties in the Nerd elite (Chess Club, Bridge Club, Classics Club) was as a Prefect. As our main responsibility, we'd patrol the Cafeteria during lunch. I was there during the great rainfall of frogs when our dissected buddies were liberated (though still dead) with frogs showing up in unsuspecting sandwiches, the Coke machine and being pelted back & forth across the room. I was not exactly authoritarian that day for I recall tossing a few amphibians myself. I also remember wearing less than traditional garb on a few occasions; at least twice I wore a toga while promoting the Classics Club's annual Roman orgy festival--remember this was in the early 70s long before Belushi made toga parties popular. And in '77, I paraded around in full pirate garb, stabbing apple cores with my sword and making a complete fool of myself when I became a lifesize billboard for my role as Squire Simon Cataract in The Secret of the Spyglass!

Why the trip down memory lane? Because in gratitude for all our hard work as Prefects, we all were treated to the big city of Toronto for dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory and a show of Second City at the Firehall Theatre. At that time, among the cast were Peter & Dan Ackroyd, Dave Thomas, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin and the immortal John Candy. So years before he entertained the masses as Johnny LaRue I saw him on stage with the rest of the gang!



Apart from making people laugh and eating, John also had a passion for Football (not that super-bowl crap or soccer...CFL) and he even went so far as to buy a part of the Toronto Argonauts with Bruce McNall and Wayne Gretzky! Back in '91, I got to see Toronto kick Hamilton's collective ass and watch the Blues Brothers/Elwood Revue Show play at half-time!!

From the CFL archive page...
July 18, 1991 – The Argos open the season against Hamilton in front of more than 41,000 people. The day featured the debut of Raghib “Rocket” Ismail and a stellar halftime show featuring the famous Blues Brothers.





Those are my personal encounters with JC, if you click the SCTV or SNL label below, you can read about my further encounters with various members of those elite comedy teams.

12 Days Of Christmas (Minus 2).

I fully intended to link to some Christmas tunes daily for a dozen days before Christmas but I missed a couple. There has been a lot of awesomeness shared all around so I shall take it upon myself to steal from those who share (I have no shame.)

Before you take me to task for not realizing that the 12 days actually start on Christmas or Boxing Day, I do realize it, but that defeats the purpose of a countdown, doesn't it?

I'd be remiss if I didn't start off with Bob & Doug. The animation sux (and I suggest you stop watching at the 3 minute mark) but the sentiment is there!

A friend just sent me this today and it truly reflects what my hometown (Brampton) has become. The tune is truly wonderful!

I just discovered this episode of Frasier that I have NEVER seen! 

Okay, more Christmassy stuff tomorrow, in the meantime here is a cool little creature that I procured from a Convenience store. This Sasquatch was in a display for some gum and I put on my droopiest puppy dog face and asked the young lass if I could have one. She obliged!

In even better news, I received a package in the mail from DeAgostini, a 2011 Calendar. From the ad, I assumed it would be a lot bigger, but it turns out to be a mini-desk calendar. I haven't looked at it past the cover, I'm saving that for January 1st...

Beauty, eh!

Here are 16 different mini-Godzilla figures as they've changed throughout the years. No commentary, just gaze upon their beauty.

While I'm showing off some beauty, here's the last of the coloured leaves in Nishi Park and I've got some balloon art for you as well. 

These Tiggers and crabs are terrific. I will be sure to scam the Santa that she'll inevitably create in the next week or two.

More bizarre beauty would be the current art display at Mediatheque in honour of its 10th anniversary. The first four were in the lobby, but you'll need to drop 100￥ and head up to the 6th floor to check out the hundreds of household items hanging from the ceiling. It rather eerily gives you a feeling of weightlessness.

Finally, what's more beautiful than a new KitKat?