Nightmare on Main Street: Why the creek and the telephone pole near our house are evil

I think our street is evil. By our street, I mean the telephone pole that everyone keeps hitting and possibly the creek is in on it too.

On Tuesday I came down stairs and started talking to my mom when she heard a loud bang.

Turned out a guy in a white pickup had slammed into our telephone pole. He didn't get out right away and my mom went out to see if he was alright. (Sadly, I didn't take pictures. I'm not that kind of person.) The guy got out and he seemed alright, though his arm hurt him a bit and he was shook up. The front of his car was smashed in and had damaged the telephone pole so much that many people lost power, including us, a friend of mine from Jamesburg and parts of Spotswood.  Of course like most accidents, everyone and their mother comes out to gawk at the scene; every rescue squad from every town showed up too. Everything got cleared up within an hour and the power came back on within two.

This was the end result...

Something must of leaked all over the road, maybe i'll light a match and throw it on it.

Gah!

F**k! He cracked the pole!

What makes the situation funny though is that this isn't the first time this has happened. A year or two previous a woman and her mother slammed into the same telephone pole. They cracked the thing and our town just recently got around to fixing it, only to have this guy make a wallop in this new pole. Gaaaah! Even before that incident  my mom told me someone else had hit that very same pole. That's three, countem THREE accidents involving this friggen telephone pole.

But that's not all!

During Hurricane Irene, our creek got filled up with so much rain that...well...

In this picture you can see that there were originally 2 poles before they replaced it with just one. When enlarged you can see the crack that the woman had left in it, so you can see why this bothers me. :)

Oh Yeah. Good times.

National Guard picking up our neighbors
vacuuming our basement with a wet vac
pulling out the generator so that our basement wouldn't fill up with a foot of water when the sump pump stopped working
fearing what God's wrath would bring next.

Good times.

Our creek has gotten flooded before, but my dad said it had never gotten that high. He blames all the new houses that have been built over the years.

Another time one of Helmetta's finest drove his car right into the creek near our house. As people gawked at him and everyone trying to help get the car out of the creek, he yelled at them to move along. Yeah, he definitely was not happy that he did that. Sadly too, I wish i would have took pictures but this was at night and I didn’t want to get arrested. Plus, I don’t think they would have turned out well :P. But my sister and I still remember that because we sat in the dark of our house and watched the whole thing. We would do this a lot actually because our neighbors would get drunk and cause a ruckus. I did take a picture of the area though to help show what it looked like :D

It may just be coincidence. Helmetta is actually not such a bad town (just watch the 25mph roads, our cops are bitches) Well, hope everyone will visit Helmetta in the future.

To the men and women of America's Forces, Thank you.

I know Memorial Day is almost over, but I wanted to post this anyway. There was this really great commercial that was put out by the VFW having to do with Memorial Day. I couldn't find it on the internet, so I decided instead to post the prayer that was spoken during it. While this prayer played, clips of all the wars that America has ever fought were shown and it made me cry.  

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

              

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. 

They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people.

They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home. 

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home - fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas - whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them - help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice. -June 6, 1944: FDR, D-Day Speech-

I want to thank all the men and women, past and present, who have fought for the freedoms I have today. Thank you for keeping my country safe. Thank you for all that you've done and for everything you will do.

Saturday Morning Cartoon Retrospect: Gummi Bears

Say what you will, but I love cartoons. Ever since I knew how to work the TV, I could never get enough cartoons and watched them whenever I could.

OK, maybe not that much. :)

Being older now, I can appreciate the work that goes into a cartoon and animated features in general. My favorite thing to do is to watch behind the scenes footage and watch them drawing scenes and voice acting and all that hard work that goes into that 30 minute episode or that 2 hour movie. I can also tell when a cartoon rocks and when it blows. I've gotten pretty good at predicting when a cartoon will be cancelled after the first season.

Where am I going with this?

Well, recently I was watching an internet video and they mentioned Gummi Bears.

NOT THOSE GUMMI BEARS!!!
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These Gummi Bears...

Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears

I will be honest, I never watched this show ritually, but I  do remember it, mostly because the opening was so damn memorable...I guarantee you will hum it for the rest of the day after you watch it.

My cousins had cable and got Toon Disney, so they would show all the old Disney animated series from the 80's and early 90's (Toon Disney was created in 1998). This was actually all they could watch because it was basically G rated and my aunt didn't want them watching anything violent (for some odd reason Bonkers was added into that category...go figure). This didn't bother me actually (except when I wanted to watch Dragonball Z, holy mother did people fight and die in that anime). These old cartoons brought back such nostalgia that I got a kick out of watching them with my younger cousins.  

Anyway, after watching the internet video, I became curious and watched the opening theme. I suddenly became all squishy and nostalgic inside. Like I said, I remember the opening. The memories flooded back...except I couldn't remember a damn thing about the show.  I remembered there were colorful bouncing bears and...that's it! Nothing! After watching that catchy, awesome opening I had to watch the show! At least to see if the show was as good as the opening made it to be.

So, what I decided to do was watch the first episode of this show and basically give my opinion on the series from this episode. I will explain the plot, the positive aspects, negative aspects, if time has caused this cartoon to age gracefully or become dated, give my final thoughts and rate the series on a five star rating. Enjoy!

Review
Episode 1

Plot: Cavin, a knight-in-training in the Dunwyn Kingdom, is left in the woods after a group of ogres run off his human allies.

While fleeing from the ogres, he stumbles upon the home of the Gummi Bears and ends up befriending them and helping them by unlocking the colony's Great Book of Gummi with a medallion that Cavin inherited from his grandfather. 

When learning of an incoming attack upon his kingdom by Duke Igthorn, Cavin convinces his new friends to help him stop the duke while promising to keep the Gummies' existence a secret.

The episode ends with not only the Gummi Bears stopping the duke for the time being, but also resolve to rediscover their heritage and help defend Dunwyn against evil.

Positive: The plot of this first episode is very well done. It introduces our hero's well and sets the scene for future episodes. I also like that there is this tone of mystery surrounding the Gummi's, their history and their civilization. These traits produce a reason and desire to continue watching the show.


I like that each of the Gummi bears have their own personalities and traits, even though most of them are your generic arc types. The voice acting from the main cast is very well done and only minor annoying voices from background characters. If anything, I get distracted by the fact that Zummi Gummi is voiced by the same person who voices Tigger from The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. What's also interesting is that Grammi and Gruffy Gummi are voiced by the same people who voice Rocky and Bullwinkle, and in knowing that their dynamic shines through even more.


I also like Cavin, the main human child in the series. He's a very sweet, innocent, and noble character who strives to protect his kingdom, as well as the secret of the Gummi’s. This kid definitely has balls and it comes through in this first episode. I'll smack my head at the stupidity of characters running into situations without thinking, because they are just asking for trouble and deserve what they get. Cavin does this, but his reason for taking on the duke and his army by himself are more understandable. He doesn’t rush in because he thinks he can take on the duke on his own, because he is arrogant, but rather because he knows that if he doesn’t do something people will get hurt and his kingdom will fall.  These traits make him a likable character, but perhaps make him too perfect. People have flaws and Cavin makes me think that Disney is portraying a character that children should be rather than what children are really like.


Negative: It's not a bad start, but I wish there was more substance. There's not a lot of explanation, save for small things like the medallion and the Gummi history, but mostly everything is thrown at the viewer and you are meant to accept what's going on. My example is that one of the characters says to Cavin, "admit it, you believe in Gummi Bears!" and I can't help but laugh. Without the theme, there is no prior explanation of the Gummi bears and all I can think of is the candy.

"Well of course I believe in Gummi Bears, I have some Haribo Gummi's in by pocket."

I would have loved it if they spread out the first episode into two or three episodes and made it an arc, explaining a lot more, giving more backstory on the characters and getting me more invested in the show. Having a lead-in with backstory of the Gummi Bears and how Cavin's grandfather discovered the medallion would have really helped and made the first episode better.


My main peeve though, is the villain, Duke Igthorn. He's not really threatening. There's no explanation for the villain’s desire to take over the kingdom. Who is this guy and why should I give a crap? He's basically your generic villain who wants to take over the world, and that just leaves me feeling empty. I found that other villains do show up, but since this one is the main villain I wanted to just focus on him.


Aged: Gracefully. This helps by the fact that it is set in medieval times and not in the 80's/90's like most cartoons of the time. It is a children's show so it is silly at times, but I did get a few genuine laughs here and there, especially with the Grammi and Gruffy dynamic.

Final Opinion: I can see why this show ran for six seasons (which is a long time for a cartoon). Though it has its flaws, it is a decent, well-structured show with interesting characters that viewers can pick and favor. Each episode draws you in and keeps you hooked. If the villain was more threatening, I'd say it would make the show even better.


I give this retro cartoon:

Rain in the SummerTime

I think one of my favorite things to do is to sit in my room and watch the pouring rain fall, especially during the summer time. It seemes to always rain during the afternoon too. It begins with clouds bubbling and building, becoming dark and ominous. Then like a rush the rain falls thick and heavy. Eventually the darkness slowly begins to fade after sometime and soon this golden tone settles over the trees, bushes, grass and flowers of my mother's garden. The sun begins to break and the sky begins to peak through again as the rain clouds travel on. When the sun begins to fall, pinks and purples and golds show up all over the clouded sky and it makes me smile and feel a bit sad at the same time.

I love the summer time.

Even though it gets so hot and sticky at times, and you feel so lazy, it's one of my favorite seasons.
I love the sound of the icecream truck as it races past our house (we live on a main road)
having barbecues of hotdogs and hamburgers, potato salad and an ice cold coke
ice cold lemonade made from concentrate ; D
the smell of fresh cut grass and the look of a fresh cut lawn
the sound of marching bands during memorial day parades
the booming sounds and beautiful colors of fireworks on the Fourth of July
the sound of a splash and the refreshing feel after jumping in a pool

What are the things that you love about summer?

Image Thursday 5.24.2012

I thought it would be nice to post a picture or video each week on Thursday to end off the week in Cyber Writing class. Or this could be a lazy way of getting around posting something every day...nah.

This week: My Nephew Daniel

This is a video of my nephew when he was around 6 months (he's about 17 months now). My mom is feeding him and he's kicking a plastic bag. (Just to vent, I hate the way I sound on camera; I either sound like a jerk or really stupid.)  

I NOW COMMAND YOU ALL TO CLICK AND ENJOY THE MONSTROUS CUTENESS!

And just a little extra, this is a picture of my nephew now...

Daw! I could kiss those cheeks!

 [and I do too, every day he comes over our house XD ]

Happy weekend everyone!

Why Some Truck Drivers are Idiodic

I'm used to traffic on the way to school. I think it's typical for everyone who is a dirver to run into traffic. But, I draw the line when it comes to this.

On Morris Avenue near Kean University, where I go to school, there is this intersection where there is always some kind of accident. But twice before, and now today A TRUCK DRIVER TOOK DOWN THE SAME FRIGGEN TRAFFIC LIGHT!!!!! It's always a freight truck too. This time the dirver went a few feet before stopping, the traffic light sitting on his trailer. I ended up having to detour with the rest of the traffic and get to school a different way. Clearly, this traffic light should not be where it is. It needs to move...maybe somewhere WHERE THE TRUCK CAN'T HIT IT!

I'm actually not peeved about the traffic, I'm just marveled at the sheer dumbassery of these truck drivers. Don't all jump on me at once! My dad is a truck driver and I know what he goes through when it comes to the winding world of Jersey Traffic. But even my dad knows the height limit of his f**ing truck!He knows when he can get through somewhere or something. So to the truck driver who have knocked down the traffic light, I present you with this...

Later. :P

Mom's Song of the Day

My mom will sometimes sing songs and not know all the words, who wrote it or what the name of the song is. She ended up showing me this song today. Enjoy! It's an...interesting ditty from 1966. It certainly was a different time indeed. :)

They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaaa! by Napoleon XIV

Night all.

First Time Blogger, Long Time Avoider

I'm...not a blogger. It's not my thing. I mean, I've hear of blogs and Twitter and this thing called the internet...all of that crap, but it's something I've never gravitated toward. I suppose I don't see the point. It seems silly. But then I realize that I look at other people's blogs and I like what I read. Atop The Fourth Wall and Hyperbole and a Half are both blogs that i read on this particular blogging website. Both of them are hilariously funny and entertaining to visit, and I didn't even know that they were blogs! So I suppose it isn't all that bad. Blogs. Blogs...hmmm, interesting name.


So...why am I here then?

Well, I've got to make a blog for a summer class (Writing for Cyberspace) that I'm taking at school. When I heard that we were going to make a blog, I got pretty excited. It's like a writer's notebook or something, and I've worked with stuff like that before and enjoyed it immensely. I'm glad it's not focused on just writing and that it can be about anything, as long as we post to it at least five times.


Well, since I'm so excited about this, i know I'm not going to just post five entries. I'm going to make the most of this, and who knows maybe I'll continue writing and get...followers... : {


I don't want this to be focused. I just want to write whatever I want. So, I shall make a diary!  I'm into my family, school, teaching, reading, writing, internet video's, cartoons and comics...so I'll write about that stuff. Whatever is on my mind...I may even just post pictures  : O


Well now...here's one now! It's a drawing of me, inspired by Hyperbole and a Half. (check her out, she's hilarious!)

I will bitch about things, make philosophical observations, share things from my life and interests, ask for help about problems and maybe i can even help you guys with your problems. :) I'm a pretty good listener, though i may not always talk back ( I like to mull over my answers to people.)

I can't wait to start blogging and sharing my thoughts and ideas with others.

And on that note I say "see you later".