Cards

In the early 90's, my brothers and I were into sports cards. We all had albums with several pages of players in them. We traded cards with each other, but would often go to the card shops in town to obtain new ones.

One of the two stores in town was on east 3rd Street next to Goltz Pharmacy. The owner's name was Rusty. He was a pretty poor guy. For one thing, he would usually eat canned goods (such as beans) out of the can while working at the store. For another, he didn't always have the heat on during the wintertime (many of the sports cards would start to "fold up" under these conditions). There were rumors that he would open packs of cards, take out the valuable ones, and then reseal and sell them. Overall, though, he was a nice guy and you could usually find a bargain there. He passed on a couple years ago of cancer at the tender age of 48.

The other shop we frequented was the Dugout, also located on east 3rd Street near Merchants National Bank. It was much more upscale than Rusty's. The owner, Dick Drury, always had dozens of different types of boxes in which one could buy cards from. He had his son, James (who was about 13 at the time), work for him at the store. On the wall of the store was an framed autographed picture of James with Twins great Bert Blyleven. Dick Drury passed on a couple years ago as well. He was 65.

www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2003/03/11/obituaries/obits.txt

Dick's old store as well as several other vacant storefronts are heading for the demolition block. The six buildings below will be destroyed in the next few weeks to make room for more parking spaces for Merchants Bank (pictured on the far left).



I guess all I can say now is thanks for the memories, Rusty Dick, I mean, Rusty and Dick.

Chillin'

Do it...

Almighty, then...

One of my favorite movies from '3 was the Jim Carrey blockbuster, "Bruce Almighty". One of his last big movies, Carrey was at the top of his game. When a sequel was announced, Carrey said he didn't want to be involved. So the lead role went to a supporting player in the first movie, Evan (the anchorman who was compelled by Bruce to say the most unusual things while he was live on-the-air). Evan was played by a guy whose stock has gone up big-time since '3, Steve Carell. Carell starred in "The 40 Year Old Virgin", the funniest movie I saw last year. Next summer he will be back at multiplexes in "Evan Almighty". The sequel again stars Morgan Freeman as God. Below is a pic from the eagerly awaited flick:

I like you. Do you like me?

Check this. I was invited to a myspace screening of "Borat" on September 20th in the Cities. It doesn't open nationwide until November 3rd.



http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/borat/

I'd been hearing awesome things about the pic and always loved Borat on "Da Ali G Show" (Borat and Ali G are actually the same person, innit).

The day before, I didn't think I would go. I was concerned about having to drive an hour and a half to get there, getting there early enough to make sure I got a seat, blah, blah, blah. But I did decide to go and join in the festivities.

I'll give you my review later this week.

To give you a taste of what you're missing, here's an excerpt from one of Borat's interviews:

Borat chats to a Vietnam Vet in the street:

Borat: "We say in Kazakhstan that a man who never killed a man is like man without any..." (Borat indicated to his groin.) "Is true? Is true?"

Man: "It's a strange feeling"

Borat: "You have a big..." (Borat indicates to the man's groin.) "You have a big 'hram'?"

Man: "Errrrrr, fairly... Not... Pretty good."

Borat: "I can touch?"

Man: "In America, you don't, it's not... It's not one of our customs."

Borat: "I can touch?"

Man: (The man looks around) "Well sure, why not"

Borat: "This is OK with you?"

Man: "Sure" (Borat reaches between the man's legs and touches him, they both then laugh)



Borat: "It's nice... It's good, but I have seen bigger!"

1996

Some of the pics I saw in 1996 included "Phenomenon" starring John Travolta, Robin Williams in "Jack", Adam Sandler's "Happy Gilmore", Chris Farley's "Black Sheep", Barbra Streisand in "The Mirror Has Two Faces", "Sleepers", "The Cable Guy", Schwarzenegger in "Eraser" and "Jingle All the Way", "Beavis & Butthead Do America", "The English Patient" (winner of Best Picture for 1996), Travolta as "Michael", "Scream", Matthew McConaughey's first big movie "A Time to Kill", Robin Williams in "The Birdcage", and "Twister".

The top moneymaker of the year was Will Smith's "Independence Day" (I didn't catch that one at the theatre).

My favorite movie of 1996 was one that I went to at the very end of the year. I had just moved to Rochester a few weeks before and was just about to hired as a video store clerk. :P As mentioned in a previous post, I went to the early show of "Beavis" and then went to the late show of

It was the number 4 top grossing movie of the year and was also nominated for Best Pic. It had something for both men and women. The girls liked Tom Cruise and the "relationship" stuff while the guys dug the sports angle of it. It was the movie that spawned a million catchphrases:

Cruise: "Help me help you..."

Renee: "You complete me" and "You had me at hello"

Cuba: "Show me the money!"

This was the first of 5 consecutive years in which my favorite movie of the year was viewed at the Galleria theatres in the Galleria Mall. Therefore, the Galleria became synonymous with high quality movies for me over the next half decade.

Mikey & Dani

An autumn night at the movies

Ever since it opened in Rochester about 5 weeks ago, I've promised myself that I would go to the following movie:



Time and again, I just didn't get around to it. On Saturday evening, I went shopping with a friend and bought a new winter jacket, my first since 1992! We ate at the Macaroni Grill and then decided to go to a movie. He is a horror nut, so I told him "Texas Chainsaw 22" had just opened. He was interested, so went to the late show of that while I finally saw Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, and Jessica Biel in "The Illusionist". For plot details, go here:

http://www.reelviews.net/movies/i/illusionist.html

It was a fantastic movie, a great period drama with lots of twists and turns along the way. It's a cliche', but it's movies like this that make going out to the theatre so worthwhile. Watching the film on a small screen at home just wouldn't be as grand an experience.

My bud had a great time at the "Leatherface" show. He's eagerly the release of "Saw III".

Tori

I was doing my work a few minutes ago listening to AOL's all Prince station when I saw in a blog listing that AOL's newest station is an all-Tori Amos one.



Needless to say, I'm listening to it right now. Damn, these stations are sure getting specialized, innit.

Camptown Races

I'm a forest ranger.

Jammin'

When my brother found out he had high cholesterol, he decided to start exercising and eating better. After a few months, his pants size went down from 36" to 32" while his cholesterol dropped from 226 to 203. Word to your mother...

The Cat's Pajamas

My 10-year old cat, Mayo, has her own web page now at Catster.

http://www.catster.com/pet_page.php?i=365232&j=t

She would appreciate any treats left for her there.

Me at work, innit...

Music Television

25 years ago, MTV was born. They had only a few thousand subscribers at the time, but that would soon change. My first time viewing the network was in 1984 (that was the summer I was living with my dad and siblings in a trailer). The house next door (the one owned by my dad's business partner) had cable TV, so we were over there quite a bit. For many an afternoon that summer, I enjoyed watching music videos on MTV. It was such a cool concept to me. Not only being able to hear your favorite songs, but also being able to "watch" them. I became familiar with all the original VJ's. Martha Quinn was probably my favorite followed by Mark Goodman.

I remember one afternoon watching Prince's video "When Doves Cry" with a couple of my siblings and another friend. My dad's BP walked into the house just as Prince was getting out of the bathtub naked.



She was not happy and told us all to go outside and do something constructive.

In the early 90's, MTV went away from showing all music videos in favor of broadcasting regular series. I came to enjoy a number of those as well, in particular "The Real World" and "Beavis & Butthead".

Thankfully, if I want to get my fill of 80's videos, I need only turn to VH1 Classic.

Ding Dongs

My favorite meal to eat at home is Healthy Choice's French Bread Supreme Pizza. It's been my favorite for the past 7 years (yes, since 1999). Nothing else comes close as far as being light on calories, but full of flavor. Right now, I have 4 of 'em in my refrigerator. I wouldn't be surprised if by the time Bush is out of office in early '09, this is still my numero uno thing to eat while at home.

My favorite thing to drink at home is Hi-C Fruit Punch, though I also like Gatorade and Ocean Spray Cran-Apple juice.

And finally, my favorite snack: Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls. I have 2 boxes of the stuff in my basement right now. A few years ago, Little Debbie Nutty Bars were my faves. Now I can't stand 'em.

1995

I didn't go to an awful lot of movies in 1995. Some of the ones I did see included Sandler's "Happy Gilmore", Farley's "Tommy Boy", "The Bridges of Madison County", "Father of the Bride Part II", "Grumpier Old Men", "Congo", Casper" and "Apollo 13", a fantastic movie directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks.

The top moneymaker of the year was "Toy Story" (I saw bits and pieces of it during its theatrical run).

My favorite movie of the year, however, was a lowbrow comedy, real lowbrow. It was the number 5 moneymaker of the year.

Yes, indeed, the return of the pet dick. I had seen the original on video at my landlady Ruth Kuhlmann's house (I lived upstairs).

Some of my favorite lines from the sequel:

Ace: Friends, rodents, quadrupeds, lend me your rears!

Fulton: You must be very proud, Ace.
Ace: Pride is an abomination. One must forego the self to obtain total spiritual creaminess, and avoid the chewy chunks of degradation.

Ace: (chasing the villain with a monster truck) Nobody wants to play with me!

New York City Boy

In movie news, Adam Sandler has a film coming out in which he plays a man who lost his family in the September 11th attacks and is still grieving, unable to function, 5 years later.



You might say, "What's so funny about that?" Well, exactly. It will be a fairly downbeat drama. It's scheduled to come out sometime next year.

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/archives/2006/07/men_apart.php

My Top 5 Favorite Restaurants

Number 5: For several years, the closest location was 70 miles away in LaCrosse. Thankfully, about 4 years ago, they finally opened a franchise in Rochester. The name of the place: the Olive Garden. Their salad is always good and the entrees are solid.

Number 4 is a joint I used to like more, but they've wussed out of late. Famous Dave's. They no longer serve burgers that are cooked medium, only medium-well or well. What a bunch of dumb-asses! Well-done just sucks off all the good nutrients.

At number 3 is a relatively new place: Romano's Macaroni Grill. Their lasagna is killa! Nuff said.

At number 2, you'll find some mighty tasty food though they get ridiculously busy on the weekend. I'm talkin' 'bout da Outback. One drawback is that they only have 3 soft drinks available: Coke, Diet Coke, and Sprite. That's a bit lame...

My favorite is only a few miles from my house and is a good time on any day. Good food, good salads, good apps, and good atmosphere can always be found at Friday's.

My First Concert

My mom was the biggest fan of country singer Vince Gill in the early 90's.



When she heard he was going to be performing at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, she had to go. She asked me if I would like to come along (her treat). I had never been to a concert before and liked him as well, so I readily agreed. Opening for him was going to be Pam Tillis. So one afternoon in May, mom picked me up and we headed out to Rochester. Once in town, we stopped at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Wendy's. We talked a bit. I was looking forward to summer break from Winona State. I was still working at Sammy's Pizza at this time and had made some new friends. My mom had left her husband and moved into her own apartment with the girls a few months before.

After supper, we headed down Broadway to the state-of-the-art civic center. I remember one of the songs playing as we got close to the center was Clint Black and Wynonna's, "A Bad Goodbye". We disembarked and headed in. There were a lot of people and you could tell they were real country fans. A radio station was playing music outside. We found our seats (they weren't the greatest, but who was I to complain?) Out came Pam wearing a groovy hat. She sang her hit song, "Cleopatra Queen of Denial" as well as other goodies like "Don't Tell Me What To Do" and "Let That Pony Run".

After her set, there was a short break. Then it was time to hear the picker from Oklahoma. He came out and the crowd turned it up for him. One of the songs he played was "When I Call Your Name", a special song to me because my grandma who loved it, had just passed on a few months prior. He played "Oklahoma Swing", but tweaked it for the crowd to "Minnesota Swing". There were a lot of people who left their seats and were standing just off to the side of the stage so as to get a closer look at the sexy boy. Before the show was over, he had also played "I Still Believe In You", "One More Last Chance", and "Never Knew Lonely". I gotta tell ya that pedal steel player sure knew what he was doin'. He played it real pretty. Great show, overall.

Afterward, we headed back to little Winona to begin the summer of '93. I went to several other country shows over the next few years. I saw Vince again in '95 at the LaCrosse Center and once more for his Christmas show in '98 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. I had just got my Saint Bernard, Brandy, a few weeks before.

In the mid 90's, I saw Reba, Tracy Byrd, and Rhett Akins in LaCrosse as well as Trisha Yearwood and Collin Raye in Rochester.

In 1998, just a few weeks after going to Disney World, I went to see the Big Kahuna of country music. But I'm gonna have to save that story for another time.

I love movies!

I saw two movies earlier this summer that are coming soon to DVD. Here's my take on them:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. I thought the first movie was OK, not as good as I was hoping for, though (I'd give the first movie a B). With the sequel breaking box-office records left and right, I thought it might be good to check it out. The reviews were pretty blah. And they were right...as least as far as I'm concerned. I enjoyed the swordfights and some of Captain Jack's (Depp) schtick, but it did get a bit long (The movie is over 2 and a half hours and the supersized sea creature got to be a bit taxing). Overall, like the first, I give this one a B. If I gave it a B-, that would transfer to thumbs down. So this one just barely was passable for me. If you liked the first, however, you should enjoy this. Call me crazy, but I will probably go to the theatre next Memorial Day to view the final chapter in the "Jack Sparrow" saga.

Right after "Pirates", I went to the computer animated "Monster House". It was half as long as "Pirates", but actually more enjoyable. It takes place in the 80's and the main kid in it reminded me a bit of myself as a child.



It was exec-produced by 2 of my favorites: Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg. I don't generally like CGI movies. I usually find them to be too childish (I rolled my eyes a number of times during "Finding Nemo", for instance). This one was more grown up, though (while still being fun), and held my interest throughout. I give it an A-.

Until next time, the balcony is closed.