Fairuza Balk: Dorthy #2.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009   0 Comments

After watching 'Girl Interrupted', which then inspired the 'Wizard of Oz', my girlfriend and I moved on to the 'Return to Oz'. I hadn't seen this movie for over a decade(perhaps 2), and all I remember is some talking couch and psudo-punk guys with wheels as feet and hands. The DVD into had Fairuza Balk doing a little introduction before the movie began. Wondering why the crazy witch from The Craft was introducing the movie, she indicates that the 'Return to Oz' was one of her first movies.

Fairuzza-Factoids:

• Her name means turquoise in Farsi, after her father saw her blue eyes.


• Her father was a musician and mother a belly dancer, a skill she demonstrated in 'The Island of Dr Morneau'.


• She was selected from 12,000 for the roll of Dorthy in the 'Return to Oz'.


• Fairuza once owned Panpipes, an Occult Craft shop.


• Coincidentally? she's been in a few movies dealing with witches, including 'Return to Oz, 'The Worst Witch' and 'The Craft'

I know it seems trivial, discovering a memorable character in another movie, but for some reason this fully blew my mind. Watching her play Dorthy it all seemed to fall into place. The only thing I still don't get is how or why Dorthy got younger from the 'Wizard of Oz', to the 'Return to Oz'. Oh well... another factoid for another day.

Links

• IMDB: Fairuza Balk


• IMDB: Return to Oz (1985)

Labels: Actress, Age, Movies, United States

Homemade Gnat Trap

Monday, September 28, 2009   0 Comments

After a weekend away, we discovered a small gnat infestation in our kitchen from some fruit we over looked. I spend the next 10 minutes attempting to kill the 30 gnats flying around our kitchen. Laughing, my girl friend introduced me to a simple and quite effective homemade gnat trap, and sure enough within a half hour the trap had claimed 8 gnats. So here's how you do it.

Supplies:
Small Bowl, Plastic Cling Wrap, Apple Cider Vinegar, and a tooth pick.

Instructions

1. Poor 1-2 oz of Apple Cider Vinegar into the Small Bowl.


2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, ensure a tight seal, especially along the edges.


3. with the toothpick poke 4-6 holes in the middle of the plastic wrap. The wholes shouldn't be much be much wider then the toothpick diameter. Just wide enough for a fat gnat.


4. Place the trap out near your infestation.

Attracted to the odor of the vinegar, the gnats will find their way through the plastic wrap, and into the apple cider vinegar lake of death. The gnats will attempt to crawl up the sides, so its important the plastic wrap has a tight seal. You can also use a rubber band if the plastic wrap isn't very clingy.

Not So Expert Tip:
Additionally I added a couple of drops of vinegar to the top of the trap to attract more gnats. Don't know if this is effective or not.

Labels: Animal, Gnat, Home, Trap

Frozen Dead Guy Days and Grandpa Bredo

Thursday, September 17, 2009   0 Comments

Folks in Colorado must be hard up on things to do when the snow isn't falling. If 'Headless Chicken Day' wasn't weird enough, I hear about Frozen Dead Guy Days.

The town of Nederland, holds Frozen Dead Guy Days at the end of winter. Festivities include fund raisers, parties, a coffin race and a polar plunge. All good small-town celebrations must have a great back story and this one doesn't fail.

20 years ago a Norwegian man name Trygve Bauge, brought his recently decrease grand father Bredo Morstøl to a cryonic facility until 1993. At that time Bredo was transported to Nederland, preserved on dry ice with the intention of creating their own facility. Trygve was deported, yet Bredo remained frozen behind an unfinished home and cared for by Aud, Trygve's Mother. Unfortunately she would soon face an eviction, but upon the public hearing about Bredo still frozen in the backyard, an exception was made. A local company now maintains the mini cryogenic facility within a new shed.

Frozen Dead Guy Days is now celebrated every March with Coffin races, slow motion Hearse parades, Bredo look-a-like contents and a polar plunge. The highlight however is the tour of the Tuff shed where Grandpa Bredo still resides.

just too weird...

Links:

• Website: FrozenDeadGuy.com


• Website: Nederland Chamber


• Wikipedia: Frozen Dead Guy Days

Labels: americana, Colorado, death, United States, weird

Thanks for Being a Friend

Wednesday, September 16, 2009   0 Comments

The other night my girlfriend turned on the Golden Girls to fall asleep too. While she slept to 'Thanks for Being a Friend' I laid awake watching back to back episodes on Lifetime. One of the episode I watched dealt with Blanch going on a date, but included a series of flash backs from the other women, including a surprisingly younger looking Sophia.

This got me thinking about the premise behind the show and their age. Breaking out the iPhone, I discovered that Estelle Getty, the actress that played Sophia, was younger then Bea Arthur, whom played her daughter. Estelle was also younger the Betty White, by a good year and a half. The wig, make-up and acting made her roll as the eldest of the 4 women was very convincing.

Estelle Getty and Beatruce Arthur are unfortunately both passed away, within the last year.

Links:

• Wikipedia: Estelle Getty


• Wikipedia: Beatrice Arthur


• YouTube: Thanks for Being a Friend

Labels: Age, Pop-Culture, Television, United States

Leaving a face down penny tip

Saturday, September 12, 2009   1 Comments

I've never worked in the restaurant industry, but my girlfriend has. Much of her terminology and simple restaurant operations are new to me. During dinner and some poor service the conversation of tipping came up and leaving a face down penny.

When service at a restaurant is horrible, one of the worst tips you can leave is a downward facing penny. With Abe looking down, the penny is disrespecting the server. This is considered worse then no tip, as the server has to deal with a random penny left behind.

I couldn't find much information on this topic, however I read an alternative version. Leave two pennies, one face down and one face up representing their first change. Second time if the service is the same, you leave two pennies face down.

Time for dinner... hoping to have some face up service. Restaurant

Labels: Money, Penny, Restaurant, Tips, United States

Mike the Headless Chicken

Friday, September 11, 2009   0 Comments

Discovering new factoid, stories and oddities (in this case) can occur just about anywhere. I learned about Mike the Headless Chicken from the Wikipedia front page. 64 years ago yesterday Mike (then known as dinner) survived his would be execution, lived for 18 months and became a quite the sensation in Fruita, Colorado.

The story goes, a woman sent her son-in-law to fetch a chicken for dinner. Measuring the bird up, he strikes what should be a fatal blow, however, Mike shook it off and continued to live. The ax missed his jugular vein and a good portion of the brain stem. Most of the chicken's functions such as breathing and heart rate are controlled in the brain stem, not the brain, and this was enough to keep Miracle Mike alive. Mike lived a good live trying to do normal chicken things.

Fed small pieces of corn and water through an eye dropper. Mike's second life began as a sideshow attraction with his buddy the two headed cow. He was displayed with a floating head in a jar, which wasn't actually his, as the cat got a hold of it before it could be saved. Quite the local celebrity, Time and Life magazines both featured him. 18 months after his would be death, Mike choke on a piece of corn.

Fruita still celebrates Mike with a 'Mike the Headless Chicken Day'. Festivities include Egg Tosses, Chicken Bingo, Chicken Dance and I'm pretty sure a good serving of fried chicken.

Links:

• Website: http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/

Labels: americana, Animal, chicken, Colorado, death, United States, weird