This picture is not in black and white.

It is dead stuff, I think.

Alive stuff.

I hung the cross I bought at

Hobby Lobby for my birthday.

A deer and some cacti at Aptenia Parklands.

Holy cow!

I've been looking everywhere for you!

Chuck Norris

1940 - 2026

TRANSMISSION #114

Cheers and Happy St. Patrick’s Day, 2026!

Would you care to take a stab at what will be showing
at Borden Cinema tonight? Excellent guess! That

is right! Leprechaun! This will be fun.

Get your green on and party safely!

I was at Walmart and they had in stock the Ghost Face figure that

I thought I might like better than the one I bought. This one has Mr. Face

in a theater setting and he is wiping the blood off of his knife as only

he can do. But you know what? I like the figure I got a little more.

I like the pose more and the hallway background of my figure works fine.

I know that this is not a great picture. I tried to take a couple in the store

and it was just not working out, but for better or worse I decided to

post one of them. So there ya go.

Happy Friday the 13th, March 2026!

And as is tradition at El Rancho De LA Tex, on Friday the 13th,

a Friday the 13th movie plays at Borden Cinema. Up tonight
was Jason Voorhees in space. That's right, Jason X. Uber Jason.
Most people don't seem to enjoy this one, but here at The Ranch
we are all over it. Jason is played by Kane Hodder and everybody 

does at least love Kane's Jason. That's him up there onscreen
getting ready to... to... well, you know.

"Guys, it's okay! He just wanted his machete back!"

My grandmother gave this tin matchstick dispenser to me.

I have had it for many years. There are no markings on it so
I don't know how old it really is, but I don't think they are
uncommon. I really enjoy having this and using it.
It is a great little device. And the fact that my mom's
mom gave it to me makes it special.

Tax day went so well that I celebrated

with a Fanta Orange Zero soda.

Alfred Hitchcock Drive, Universal Studios,

Universal City, California, 1987.

Week Four of the 2026 Month of Musicals!

All Musicals all month continued on! First up this week

was Muppet Treasure Island. This movie is fantastic.

Tim Curry as Long John Silver. Holy cow is he a fun

pirate! Tim Curry, am I right? Yes. I am. The Muppets

are hilarious in this one. Lots of wink-wink jokes for the

grown-ups. I rate Muppet Treasure Island 10 out of 10

Tim Curry Piratey Hearty Pirate Laughs.

Next up was The Greatest Showman, kind of the story of

P.T. Barnum. I enjoyed this quite a bit. Good music, a pretty

good love story and just kind of a feel-good (most of the time)
movie. Hugh Jackman is really good as usual. He sings. He dances.

He makes ya weepy. TGS is worth a watch and I will watch it

again someday. I rate this movie 9 out of 10 Top Hats.

And then, Shall We Dance starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Classic. You want to see some of the most inventive dancing ever?

If so, you want to watch Fred Astaire. That guy is awesome. And

Ginger Rogers is just pretty dang adorable. And when they dance

together? Not much else like it. Lots of humor as well of course. Don't

miss them on roller skates, the OLD kind that attach to your shoes.

Yikes. I rate Shall We Dance 10 out of 10 Linda Keene Masks.

And now, the one that I have been waiting for, the movie I was

saving for last, the movie that I have not seen for six years: La La Land.

I absolutely LOVE this movie. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are

so enjoyable to watch together. And the music? From the

first scene on the freeway featuring the song Another Day of Sun
to the Epilogue scene featuring Mia & Sebastian's Theme,

City of Stars and a bit of Another Day of Sun, my eyes and ears are

glued to the screen. The two very last shots of this movie could not have

been a lovelier way to end this Month of Musicals. Needless to say, I rate

La La Land 11 out of 10 George Michaels.

And that's it. The curtains have closed on the February 2026 Month of

Musicals at Borden Cinema. I had a great time watching all of these shows.

As these movies were pretty long I can't do this again very soon, but

in a couple of years?

Happy National Pig Day 2026!
(I don't like to brag, but
I drew that pig.)

~ Random Around the Ranch Photo of the Day ~

How about a little wooden shark sitting on a shelf?

Hoorah for the Third Week in the 2026 Month of Musicals!

First up this week was Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Starring Peter Frampton and The Bee Gees this one was a rock

and roller. So many musical stars in this movie from Billy Preston

to Alice Cooper. In truth, not a great movie, but fun to watch

at least once. I rated this movie 6.5 out of 10 Strawberry Fields.

Next up was Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and the always

great Alan Rickman. This movie is dark, REALLY dark. Pretty

darn bloody too. Not one for the kiddies. Having said that,
wonderful music, wonderful movie and I love it. I rated
Sweeney 9 out of 10 Heads Going KA-BONK
on the Basement Floor.

And now, Bikini Beach. Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.

1964 beach party fun. Sand, surf, drag strips, young people
and pure zaniness! Fun thing to watch out for: Eric Von Zipper
giving himself the finger... AGAIN. I rated this movie 6 out of 10
Potato Bugs, but I probably should have gone slightly higher.

Yeah, Beach Party Tonight!

And the last movie for Week Three was Disney's The Lion King.

Everybody knows this movie. What more can I say? I rate this

movie 10 out of 10 The Lion Sleeps Tonights.

A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh!

Week Four and the final week of
The Month of Musicals is underway!

I had my eyes on this little skeleton at Walmart for a

few weeks. He was in the fish tank department. I thought

he would look kind of cool in my cactus pot. I finally

broke down and bought him.

He seems to be angry, which is okay.

We all have our days.

I went to the dentist for another round of goodness.

I love their waiting room. The possibility for calm is there.


The Dentist Waiting Room.
(A short one.)

I know I've featured a lot of cactus lately, but man, the

wind around here has been brutal. It just blows this cactus

all to heck. It breaks up and rolls down the
rocks just to land in a big pile.



The wind pretty much snaps the big cactus in half.
I will salvage some of this and replant it either up
the hills or put some in pots or both. Even
though it is plentiful, to me it is just
too beautiful to go to waste.

Awwwwwwwww... A baby tumbleweed.

Week two of Borden Cinema's February Month of Musicals

wraps up after 4 more great shows! First up was Oliver!. I hadn't

seen this one before. I gave it 8 out of 10 Pocket Watches if not

just for the Consider Yourself sequence alone. Jack Wild, great.

Next up was Moulin Rouge. I had seen this movie once when

it first came out. It was the first movie I had ever seen on DVD.

I watched it at a friends house and she had a big screen (for the
time) and a stereo setup. For me it was like being at the theater.
I fell a bit in love with Ewan McGregor's character, Christian. The

action in this movie never stops and is quite insane. I rated it

8 out of 10 Glasses of Absinthe.

And now, The Phantom of the Opera (2004). I have never seen this movie

and have wanted to for years and years. I just never felt the time

was right, until The Month of Musicals. When this movie started

I could not believe my eyes. The Phantom was played by Gerard Butler!

Really?? I LOVE Gerard Butler. And he did not let me down. And also

a younger Patrick Wilson is in it. He is always good. The Music of
the Night. Yum. I rated Phantom 9 out of 10 Chandeliers.

And finally, as this week ended on a Friday the 13th, literally, we took a

break from musicals and as our tradition demands, watched a Friday the

13th movie. This time we watched Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes

Manhattan. Always a great time. I rate this movie 8 out of 10 Barrels of

Toxic Waste.

Well, The Month of Musicals is reminding me of one thing to be certain:

These movies are LONG. Two and a half to three hours long. That's a

LOT of musical!

Robert Duvall.

One of the best cowboys ever.

1931 - 2026

Rest In Peace.

Well, I did something that I don't do too often

these days (for more than one reason). I bought a

figure. I spotted Ghost Face at Walmart and thought

he was a pretty fun little item. It says on
the front of the package that he is from

FlyGuys (by CULTUREFLY).

SCREAM 7 (SEVEN! Holy cow!) comes out this month so
I reckon this is why they put him out there. Anyway, he’s
small, and at only nine dollars and change, I went for it.
There are several versions with the same figure, but
different backgrounds. I think this hallway one
is the least interesting,  but I’m happy
to have him.

Just in case you would like to see what the other

backgrounds look like. I am partial to the
movie theater background.

~ Happy Friday the 13th, February 2026 ~

And in honor of the 13th, we took a slight detour

from the February 2026 Month of Musicals at
Borden Cinema to carry on the tradition of viewing
a Friday the 13th film. Tonight was part VIII:
Jason Takes Manhattan. Above is Jason onscreen
taking the subway in an effort to catch up to the
young folks he is attempting to.... dispatch.

Did he do it? I aint'a talkin!
It was a great night at the cinema!

I am posting a picture of my Bianchi reversable gun belt here

because I really like it. I bought this gun belt during a big gun show

at the L.A. County Fairgrounds at least 35 years ago, maybe more.

This belt will hold your pants up, but it will also support any full

size holster and pistol that you put on it. This belt is so sturdy that

it will practically hold my pants up without me in them.
I like the decorative stitching. Simple
and traditional.

And reversible meaning one side is black, the other is tan. Tan

is for range day and black is for body art conventions.
Belt, thy middle name is Versatile.

This belt was VERY stiff and needed a LOT of breaking in when I first

bought it. I remember telling the vendor that putting on my pants was

about to become a major event.

I cannot even really tell what model this is anymore. But I am
pretty sure that Bianchi no longer produces it. Similar belts, yes.
This one? I don't think they do. Thirty-five or more years
later, this belt still rocks.

Some folks don't like Bianchi products.
I always did and I still do.

The February 2026 Month of Musicals at Borden Cinema

starts off strong! I can usually watch four movies a week

and this first week was a winner!

The first movie of the month was Guys and Dolls. Great

songs and c'mon, Frank Sinatra! I rated this movie 9 out

of 10 Guys Reaching for Stars in the Sky.

Next up? Singin' in the Rain. Holy cow the dance moves

are incredible. Donald O'Conner: Not AI folks. I rated this

show 10 out of 10 Good Mornin's.

And now, West Side Story. I laughed, I cried and then I

cried some more. The way they communicate interactions

of all kinds through dance, just AMAZING. It is hard to

take your eyes off of Russ Tamblyn while he is doing his

thing. I rated this movie 10 out of 10 Switchblades, easily.

And finishing up this round of films is Bye Bye Birdie.

Fun movie. Conrad Birdie is just too cool for school.

I was a little surprised and disappointed to hear of the

behind the scenes turmoil between some cast members.

But hey, this is a fun watch. A great scene was filmed

at Courthouse Square, Universal Studios. And the main family

in the story, the McAfees live in the Lethal Weapon House!

Yikes! I rated this movie 7.5 out of 10 Gold Lamé Jumpsuits.

Three more weeks of The Month of Musicals left to go!

P.S. This coming Friday falls on the 13th…
so just for one night, the Month of Musicals
steps aside for Jason Voorhees.

!! Happy National Pizza Day 2026 !!

Now GO out and OINK out!

This box is from a restaurant that was on Wilshire Blvd. in

West Los Angeles. We ate there quite often. La Barbera's

served really great Italian food. I loved the pizza. Many loved

their lasagna which when taken-out for a party or such came

in one of these boxes. I ran across this box in our
garage. This box does not have lasagna in it.
It apparently contains stuff to burn.

This is La Barbera's on Wilshire Blvd.
in West Los Angeles.

This is where La Barbera's used to be on Wilshire Blvd.
in West Los Angeles. They closed up shop sometime
in the mid-to-late 1980s, and the location is
now occupied by a strip mall.

Just a slice. The box brought
back memories.

TRANSMISSION #113

February 2026 is the Month of Musicals at Borden Cinema!
All Musicals! All Month! From Guys and Dolls to West Side Story!

The Sound of Music to Singin' in the Rain!
All Musicals! All Month!

This has been a few years in the making,
 and it’s finally happening.

A supply of Atonomyte, just in
case we break out in dystopia.

This is the Human Claw Machine at the mall. I am not

sure if it is just for kids or if adults can participate as well.

The thing was not operating when I was there.

It looks like a person (you) lays in this harness and the

Claw Machine operator (the person who works there) moves

the person (you) up and down and back and forth and the

person in the harness (you) grabs for whatever it is they (you)

can for whatever it is that they (the company) has placed

under the tarp (that you can see if the first picture).

And lest you think anarchy reigns at

the Human Claw Machine, think again.
There are rules.

I bought this cross at Hobby Lobby during my Annual

Birthday Extravaganza (which has been over for a couple

of days now). Those days off were nice. I think I might

take a few days off in June as well. That would be good.

Happy National Popcorn Day 2026!

It seems that they’re not really a thing anymore, but

I enjoy wearing silicone wristbands. I found these
Saint Patrick’s Day wristbands at Walmart,
which is unusual lately, so I grabbed one
before they all disappeared.

Saving them for March of course.

This succulent bloom doesn't look like it is

from around here. Here... meaning Earth.

Happy International Hot and Spicy Food Day!

The timing is fortuitous as for my Birthday Extravaganza

I just bought one of my favorite things: jalapeño stuffed

green olives from World Market. These are delicious! But

I only buy them once every few years as they
 are kind of expensive.

On Tuesday, January 7, 2020, I bought the same brand

olives for my birthday. They cost $4.99 for 11.2 ounces.

This year, they cost $7.69 for just 9.52 ounces.

So yeah, a special treat. If you like green olives and

jalapeños, and you’ve got a little spare dinero in your

pocket, it’s a no-brainer!

And yep, here are my boys all together.

The newest guy is on the far right. I have had the one on the
far left for two years, the one next to him for three years and
the tallest one for one year. I love seeing them when

I come home at night.

Continuing on with what now seems to be the oinking-out
theme of my 2025 Birthday Extravaganza, I had my yearly
chocolate shake at Jack in the Box. That was worth waiting for
I will tell you what. But, they didn't put a cherry on top this time

around. I kind of missed that. It brings in a touch of color and,

probably, a psychological boost to the whole deal.

But in the end I managed to put on my
big girl pants and soldier on through!