Toon Alert - Gravity Falls

If you're not a regular viewer of any of the Disney channels, you might be unaware of tonight's premiere of Gravity Falls.

The plot revolves around brother Dipper and sister Mabel, whose parents interrupt their summer vacation plans by sending them to stay with their Great Uncle (Gruncle) Stan in Gravity Falls, Oregon. Stan runs, and lives in, The Mystery Shack, a tourist trap museum of the bizarre. But the only funny business going on at The Shack is Stan fleecing the tourists of their money. But soon Dipper discovers a mysterious book that is part diary, part creature encyclopedia which leads the kids into a world of weirdness.

I caught the sneak peak on June 15, and I found myself pulled into it almost immediately. In the family tree of cartoon ancestry, Gravity Falls is a cousin many times removed from Scooby-Doo. Although there is a bit of a Scooby switch in the first episode, I don't think that will be the formula for the rest of the series.

The introduction of the book seems like it will be an ongoing mystery as the kids will no doubt find clues about it and its author. The ongoing plot is something I'm really enjoying in modern cartoons.

It's a little odd that the show is airing in a later time slot on Friday nights. Maybe they're shooting for the tween audience that's still too young to be out on a Friday night? Whatever the case, it seems like the show is going to be a lot of fun and I'll be tuning in every week.

Gravity Falls premieres tonight at 9:30pm Eastern on DTV.

You can visit the official site here. 

Only don't spoil yourself by watching any clips if you plan on watching the show.

Darling Pet Munkee

Yes, I know it's not Mail Order Monday. Although maybe I should have saved this post for then! What I'm talking about today is a local area band called Darling Pet Munkee.

The band name is derived from both the sale of living squirrel monkeys via ads (like the above for Darling Pet Monkey) and the combination of Sophia Cacciola (drums, vocals) and Michael J. Epstein (bass, vocals) of The Prisoner-themed act, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, and Catherine Capozzi (guitars) of Axemunkee.

They've recently posted the next two videos from their EP "Glows in the Dark."  All the songs on the EP are about mail order items of yesteryear. The EP is available for whatever price you want to pay here. Highly recommend that you do!

You can scope out this double feature, complete with horror hostess Dalya, on the YouTube. And don't miss their first video, X-Ray Specs. The tune will be stuck in your head for days!

You can find out more about Darling Pet Munkee on Facebook and on their blog. The blog has a post for each song from the EP and explores the background of the mail order item. There's also some behind the scenes stuff from the video shoots.

And I would be remiss if I didn't also mention the below book by Kirk Demaris of Secret Fun Blog. The book makes a cameo in the video for Dracula's Dirt!

Pop Art #4

And now, the thrilling conclusion to the Cumberland Farms drink saga!
I went with a more summer-y background this time.

Mad Cola
 I thought I had the flavor text copied down before I threw out the bottle.
I was wrong...

Verdict: I was expecting a generic cola but it actually has something in it that gives the taste a little something different.

Strawberry Monkey
One swing and you'll be shouting "Sweet Strawberry Monkey!"
Bushels of strawberries mixed with bushels of bananas?
That's just strawberry-bananas

Verdict: It says what it does and it does what it says. When you first start tasting it, you get strawberry. After swallowing, you get a nice banana aftertaste.

NRG Kick
Caution: This caffeine-charged cyclone will rip thirst from its foundation.
Hold on tight.

Verdict: Saved the worst for last! When Red Bull first came out I tried it to see what the hype was about and did not like the taste. This is much worse tasting. Took one sip and poured the rest down the drain. I would rather drink an entire bottle of the Chloraseptic-flavored Red Rage or Sucka Punch before tasting this again.

Here's a bonus photo of a Cotton Candy Commander sign.

In case you missed any previous entries in this series:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3

Revenge of Fangula!

Just a little over two months ago, I posted about a Fangula car that I found with a Halloween deco scheme and I even mentioned in that post how it was a pretty sinister ride especially the black/red variant.

And what did I happen upon recently but that same variant. Hot Wheels wiki says Fangula has only been around since 2010 but has had five releases. I think I have the best two. I have seen the white/pink version and will be passing on it, thank you.

When I saw it in the store I thought I may have had it already but surprisingly no. If anyone knows of a decent way to keep track of a collection, please let me know. It's kind of difficult to make a list because not all the cars I own have their name printed on the underbody. Makes it hard to figure out what's what!

I think after this Halloween (if not before!) I'm going to have to acquire an additional case to hold all my creepy rides!

I really like the look of this color scheme but I wish they'd used chrome on the engine block instead of black, like it is on the card.

Pop Art #3

Here we are with the penultimate installment of the summer soda art extravaganza. 

You can find the previous entries here and here.

And as an added bonus, I changed up the background this week!

Purple Palooza
Guzzle from the grapevine!
Purple Palooza amps up the grape and puts the rest to shame.
Open wide, sip back and rock out. Epic refreshment awaits.

I like the taste of grape soda but can never drink too much at once otherwise I exeprience "sugar overload sickness."
The character reminds me of The Misfits face with his devil-lock.
Verdict: I think this is only the third variety of grape soda I've had after generic store brand and Fanta. It's about on par with Fanta.

Sour Apple Shock 

You've never picked an apple like this before. 

Sour Apple Shock has the tart taste that will jolt you to your core. 

So what do you say? Pucker up.

I like sour gummy candies and sour apple flavor so this seemed like a good one.

Verdict: Too much sour for me! Couldn't drink more than a few sips.

Cotton Candy Commander
 Enough with the fluff and puffy, let's get down to some serious Cotton Candy consumption!
This Commander's kicks tongues and taking names.
Now drop down and give me twenty ounces!

We've been known to go to local carnivals just to get cotton candy.
Verdict: Yup, it tastes like cotton candy in soda form!

Friday Funnies - Vampire Intros

Nothing too exciting today...just vamping it up.

Ha!

Pop Art #2

Bringing you the next installment of the exciting Cumberland Farms Soda saga! I did go back and update the first post with my verdict on the flavors. On to the next batch!

Something interesting (to me anyway) that I've noticed with these is that they are called sodas but have a carbonation level between soda and sparkling beverages.

Lemonaze
This crazy concoction has the lemonade stand on lockdown. 

It's fizzy, furious, and just busting to break out. 

So beware; Lemonaze is on the loose.

As previously stated, I do like my lemonade during the summer.

Verdict: It's a Goldilocks of lemonades, not too tart or sweet. 

I usually prefer when it leans more one way or the other.

Berry Backlash
Don't let his looks deceive you.
He's berry, berry serious about thirst quenching.
So open wide, Berry Backlash coming through.

Verdict: Not blueberry flavored as I feared.
Has a good all around generic "blue soda" berry flavor.

Red Rage

Tackle thirst from the top rope. 

Red Rage is the very cherry flavor that slams your taste buds and never stops. 

Pour it on.

Verdict: Have you ever used cherry Chloroseptic throat spray? That's the after taste this soda leaves you with only not as bitter.

New Stuff: Rigor Motors & LEGO Nerd

I was checking out a store called Special Thoughts, which is similar to Big Lots, when I found a couple of new additions for my Halloween Garage. I'm always super jealous of other toy bloggers who have cool backgrounds to put their toys in. I took the cheap route and printed out a desert highway photo and folded it in half at the horizon line to make a backdrop.

Your eyes don't deceive you, they are two different versions of the same car: Rigor Motor. A quick check of the Hot Wheels Wiki shows this car has been around since 1992 and has had more than 20 releases! Come to find out I have at least two other versions that were Wal-Mart and Target Halloween exclusives in recent years. I have a lot of cars in my Halloween Garage so it's not surprising I don't remember what's parked in there.

The above version is from 1998 and the card still had an old price sticker from Bradlees on it. In addition to it basically being a coffin on wheels, I love the bat at the front of the car and the skulls alongside the radiator.

This 2002 version is a little more Halloween-y in nature. It was part of a series called "Grave Rave," which it says on the top of the coffin.

Also in my travels I picked up another Series 7 LEGO minifig for kicks. Still hoping to get a Red Riding Hood to go with my Wolfman. This guy's official name is Computer Programmer but let's face it, he's a nerd! His tiny laptop even opens! Still debating if I'm going to hold on to him or put him up for trade bait...

League Post - Top 10 Movies

I picked quite the week to jump back into the League of Extraordinary Bloggers!
The open ended assignment: put together a Top 10 Movies list. Doing a personal Top 10 would be a fairly rote exercise with few surprises so I decided to do...

My Top 10 Vincent Price Movies

10. Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine

When you think Vincent Price, chances are your first though isn't comedy. This movie is zany! Where else can you see a boat on wheels being pursued by a cable car? It's also got quite a few in-jokes for fans of Price and/or bikini beach movies. Also, the opening titles are done by Art Clokey, Gumby's creator.

Mail Order Monday - Facial Hair (1969)

If they really wanted to sell this ad, they would have given the model darker hair. It kind of looks ridiculous for this blond guy to be sporting dark facial hair. Then again, it was the late 60s', what do I know?

At least you can choose your facial hair color from light, medium or dark brown, black, blond, auburn and silver. I bet the auburn (red) was some hideous clown hair-like red.

Check out the name of the company on the mailing address: Man International! If that doesn't make you want to send them money, I don't know what would!

Monthly Movie Recap - May 2012

This month has combined some of the best and worst I've seen this year (so far anyway!)
As always, clicking on a title link takes you to Amazon where you can order the movie and support the site.

Boy Eats Girl (2005)
Pretty fun horror/comedy. Although it's hard to call if it wants to be a zombie movie or infection movie. When you get "it" you have no vital signs and crave human snacks but there is a cure for "it."

Cool: High school is always a good setting for zombies; great slaughter scene with farm machinery
Lame: Kinda sucks for all the people/zombies that they had to kill that could have been cured
Rating: 6.5/10, good choice if you're looking for something different