I had written that my 7.1 surround sound player refused to

play Blu-rays anymore, and I finally decided to bite the bullet

and replace it. Unfortunately a quality surround sound system

was not in the budget for me at this time, so I did go the

(great) Blu-ray player/soundbar and sub-woofer route. I am

currently getting used to the new system. Much simpler.

The good news is, I can play Blu-rays again. Huzzah!

 While at Fry's Electronics I found "White Line Fever" on

DVD. I have had this movie on my Amazon Wish List for

ages. (I have a HUGE wish list.) And the price in the store

was better than online. Anyway, White Line Fever is a movie

that we used to see at the drive-in. Really fun movie. I would

want to have the people in the movie as my friends.

 This movie stars Jan-Michael Vincent. Jan did all kinds of movies

like these and I loved them. And handsome? Oh yeah. At one time

he was one of the highest paid actors on television starring on a show

called "Airwolf". Some years ago I had a few short interactions with him

and at that time he was nice. Polite.

Unfortunately over the years he has hit a few rough patches, perhaps some

of his own doing, and life has not been too kind to him. It is sad. But for me,

I would want him to know that I am a fan and always will be, and I

hope the best for him. Carol Jo Hummer. So cool.

And then I had leftover pizza.

I had an extra day off of work and so I decided to go

to a store that I had been wanting to go to for years.

I don't know why I haven't gone until now... no idea.

REI, or Recreational Equipment, Inc for those of us in

the know. Actually, I had to look that up. Great store and

I bought a few things that I have had on my Amazon Wish

List for a few years. Things I could not find in stores locally.

Their prices seem to be about normal, except for knives.

Stores like this es muy loco when it comes to knife prices.

No bueno.

Number one item I purchased today would be this

canister stand for my MSR Pocket Rocket.

This is a pretty compact little gadget and will go a long

way towards stabilizing the little stove.

These canisters can be a little unstable depending on

the size of the pot placed upon the stoves attached

to them. But this stand has some wide legs and

it seems like it will work out great.

 

 

Number two score for today is this Snow Peak

Trek 900 Titanium cook set.

This is a total luxury item for me. Nothing that I HAD to have.

I've just always wanted to have one for the cool and fun factor.

It is so light it is unbelievable. It is very popular with camper/hikers

into "ultra light" accessories. These folks are into counting every little

ounce and shaving their loads down to nothing. I am not about that.

The little cover can be used as a fry pan (not very practical, but

COOL). I will use it mostly as a cover for the pot as it speeds up

the boiling/cooking process.

I cannot wait to get out and break these guys in and learn what they

can do. REI is about a two hour round trip for me, but now that

I know where it is, I will be back.

And guess what....

I found another Little Caesar's Pizza!!! ANOTHER one.

This is just crazy, man. There are a bunch of these places.

Okay, so I guess they want you to know

that these guys are not very entertaining.

Pistol Pete and peppers. Must be Tom's Burgers.

 I was doing some cleaning yesterday and noticed that my

friends here were quite dusty and in need of some love.

So I gave it to them. Here they are, resting comfortably

after a bath.

I went over to Home Depot.

I love this store.

I was buying solar lights for the home. They have some great

ones. Spent a fair amount of money for them. I hope they are

worth the dinero. I like the fake grass behind the display.
 

I also bought a sillcock key.
Like I have to tell you what that is.

One or two of the things I love about stores like this are the smell
of the dirt, the fertilizer and plants, the smell of the wood etc.
Anyway...

I made a late night Del Taco run and I took
this picture. It tastes better than it looks.

Little Caesar's has a new pizza. "Extra Most Bestest Most Cheese

& Most Pepperoni * Nations Best Price!" Just like it says on the box.

The crust is a little thicker giving it that "bigger better" appearance, but

I have to admit (happily), the thing is packed with cheese and pepperoni

as advertised. Granted, the pepperoni is sliced a bit thinner than a lot

of other pizza houses slice it...

 

...but for Six Dollars? Oh this is a win.

And then Governor Tarkin says, "I think it is time we demonstrated

the full power of this station. Set your course for Alderaan."

Death Star iron-on (or sew-on) patch from Target.

 

And we here at El Rancho De La Tex thank you both.

I went to see "Atomic Blonde" starring Charlize Theron.

Fun movie. The 80's soundtrack was fantastic. Really great.

That cannot be overstated. The action? Good loud gun play

with some fun close quarters action. The fights? Well, pretty good.

I didn't think that they were too imaginative, but I still liked  them.

As I've written before, Charlize never lets me down. This one I will

be buying for sure when it comes out on Blu-ray.

At this point I will rate Atomic Blonde 6.5

out of 10 bottles of Stolichnaya.

Fun something to look out for: 

CIA officer insulted and follow up.

"They drew first blood, not me."

~ John Rambo figure - 1985 ~

 

I finally bought "The Boy" on DVD. It came down in price

quite a bit. Been waitin' for that. People have dumped all OVER

this one, but I still want to see it. We shall see how it is.

They dumped on Annabelle 1 as well, but I liked that one okay.

P.S. I like the picture on the DVD cover, that food.

I wonder if the doll eats that.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...later that night.

Okay, I watched "The Boy". This is one of those movies that
you just cannot say much about, or you will give it away. That
said, I am going to say that it kept me entertained, it gave me
the willies in a spot or two, I did not see what happened coming
(and that may be because I am an amateur), and it was worth
watching. I will rate "The Boy" 5.5 out of 10 Peanut Butter and
Jelly Sandwiches. Don't pay more than $7.50 for it.

Years and years ago my mom and her husband were on a

trip somewhere (I cannot remember where), and she bought

this scarf slide for me. It must have been my kind of place

they were visiting because...

...this slide is really beautiful. The beadwork is great and has held up

for years. I THINK, I'm not certain, but I THINK that the bone

is some kind of animal vertebrae. That's what it looks like to me.

But with my limited knowledge, I could be totally

wrong (most likely). I really wish I knew more about it.

Very awesome piece.

 

Yeah, I will have this.

 I craved a chocolate shake and for the first time since

Monday, July 14, 2014 I treated myself to one at

Jack in the Box. Does this not look goooooood?

It was good. Too good. Real too good. It was too big too.

I drank it all. Big mistake. It was just too much for me and

I was sick the rest of the day and night. Dang it was good.

But I felt so terrible that it will be a good long time until I

have one again and when I do? It will be SMALL.

Somebody tied a swing to their tree.

All those years ago when I first saw

 "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope"

at the theater, I never thought that I would

be standing here in 2017, SO many years
later looking at stuff like this.

A beautiful day to sit in the car, listen to

the radio and enjoy a pizza lunch.

This boy gets around.

 This is my Star Wars Transformers Crossovers

TIE Fighter/Darth Vader.

And this is my Star Wars Transformers Crossovers

Snowspeeder/Luke Skywalker.

Both are by Hasbro and both transform from vehicle to the respective

Star Wars character. I bought them about eight years ago because they were

all I could afford in a larger than small Snowspeeder and TIE Fighter.

I have never "transformed" them. I am afraid that I would never get them

back together again. I think you can still buy these, but they are out of

production, pretty sure.

Just a day in the life of a Glacier ice/water machine.

 I bought "Ghost in the Shell" starring Scarlett Johansson.

I had seen this in the theater and I thought it was fun.

It's too bad that my beloved Borden Cinema is currently

having much difficulty playing Blu-ray disks to the point

that it is unable to read them at all. I am not quite sure what

I am going to do about that, but this version comes with a

DVD as well, so I am good for this show.

 

Years ago when they use to have them, I liked to go to

the Inkslinger's Ball held annually at the Hollywood Palladium

in...... Hollywood. They would host tattoo artists from all

over the world during the three day run. Inkslingers

who you would only see in magazines would be there and if

you were lucky you would be able to book some time with

your favorites, IF... you were lucky. They were usually booked

ahead of time and doing work for daily contests which in turn

would pay off, win lose or draw, in more publicity for them.

Anyway...

They had some great jewelry there. I bought some really cool stuff

there on occasion and unfortunately for me, I lost some really nice pieces

in a motel incident that shall remain a distant memory. One item that DID

survive some crazy times was this skull and crossbones concho in sterling

silver. Now to some this design may be a hair controversial (unbeknownst

to me at the time of purchase). But to me this concho is about pirate

and nothing BUT pirate and always will be. 

I think that it is a great piece and it just gets better with age.

Also,

If you have ever seen the movie "Phantasm"...

 

...you will always walk AROUND these two posts

and NOT between them.

"Nah, leave it there. I'll eat it later."

~ Independence Day 2017 ~

I like that.

A day or two or three ago I found a new incense burner at

Walmart. This one was only five dollars. I like it.

It burns stick incense unlike my other burners. It's fun

to burn sticks for a change. They burn longer than the cones.

The door on this thing creaked like The Black Pearl when I

opened and closed it and I was afraid that it would stress the hinges

to the point of breaking. So I went into my personal tool chest,

pulled out a little file I bought and filed the top and bottom

of the door a bit. Now? Smooth baby, smooth.

I have added "carpenter" to my resume.

This is a picture from my 2010 visit to the Gene Autry

Museum in Griffith Park, California. This is a prop "Wanted"

poster from the movie "The Big Bonanza" (1944). Pictured

is Richard Arlen who stars as Jed Kilton, a Captain in the Army

who escapes from prison after being falsely court-martialed
for cowardice.

Anyway, this item is no longer on view as it was in one of the

window displays here on the "Western Street Sound Stage"

section of The Autry, and this was

dismantled about four years ago.