To this day, that remains one of my favorite Halloween costumes of all time.

To be fair, the costume was so unwieldy that I couldn’t move my arms much while wearing it, and when I fell over I looked like Ralphy’s brother from “A Christmas Story” trying to get back on my feet again — but when all the other kids were wearing off-the-rack plastic He-Man costumes, this one stood out as a true original.

Gaze upon the face of Pac-Man fever:

So hey, happy birthday and thanks for the great costume, Mom.

I’d heard that it was a modest grave, but it was still surprising to see the final resting place of one of America’s greatest authors remembered with just a small grave marker instead of a more prominent headstone. It wasn’t too difficult to find, as the ground around the marker clearly sees a lot of visitors. People had left cigarettes and a quill at the grave along with all of the stones.

The inscription on the marker reads: "He Honored Life." It also features his family nickname, "Ti Jean" (Little John), which is what his French-Canadian parents called him.

]]> http://www.mindpollution.org/2012/01/07/jack-kerouac-grave-lowell/feed/ 0 http://www.mindpollution.org/2011/12/21/doctor-who-motorcycle-jon-pertwee/ http://www.mindpollution.org/2011/12/21/doctor-who-motorcycle-jon-pertwee/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 23:58:58 +0000 Rick http://www.mindpollution.org/?p=5326 The next time someone tries to tell you The Doctor isn’t cool, kindly direct them to the following photo:

Whose house is he going to ride to, kick open the door, drag out by his ear, and then trap in a pocket dimension of timeless misery? Just look at that photo and you’ll have your answer.

Don’t mess with The Doctor.

…

(image via fyeahwhovians, inspiration via two slack-jawed Who-haters)

By the way, NFL.com put a mic on Tebow for Sunday’s game. If you haven’t watched and/or listened to it yet, you’re missing out. I love seeing how calm, cool, and collected he is when the improbable opportunities opened up for him late in the game.

As Dan Shanoff points out on TimTeBlog, it’s also worth noting that when he does take a moment to pray late in the game, he isn’t praying for victory — he’s praying for the strength to put up a good fight, play the best he can, and handle the outcome whether it’s a win or a loss. I think that’s an important distinction, seeing as how everyone likes to joke about him “praying for victory.”

I can totally relate to this comic by Gemma Correll. My wife likes to call me the “pet whisperer,” because whenever I disappear at a party, she knows she’ll find me hanging out with the host’s pets.

But more on this later…

1. I would pay to read the comic in which Frank Castle discovers a store selling Punisher underwear.

2. Is it really a smart move to associate this part of your body with "The Fastest Man Alive"?

We may not have room for a big party now that we’ve moved to NYC, but we still take the time to carve a jack o’lantern. Jessica is a bit more ambitious than I am, though, which is why she chose a particularly detailed “Doctor Who” stencil for our 2011 jack o’lantern.

While it didn’t out exactly as we’d hoped, it still looks pretty darn good. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s brilliant.

It’s also worth noting that my brother seems to have picked up the torch that I dropped back in Albany, and has made a tradition of carving his own, uber-geeky jack o’lanterns the last few years.

Here is the trio of jack o’lanterns he carved for Halloween 2011:

Pretty great, eh? Happy Halloween!

A few people have asked me what the mysterious assignment is all about, and though I’m not at liberty to say (since it’s for a large corporation that could pay to have me killed), it does involve Halloween. More specifically, it involves Halloween history and horror movies.

So, given how much time I’ve spent on this project, there’s a good chance that if you name any horror movie made in the last 50 years, I can probably rattle off some facts about it. Seriously.

How this knowledge will come in useful once October 31 is in the rearview mirror, I’m not entirely sure — but hey, I’m not getting paid to think beyond Halloween… yet.

Okay, enough of that for now. Here are this week’s links:

– Arriving via io9, this video of Sgt. Slaughter singing about monster trucks is the sort of thing that will melt your brain, but once you hit “play” you won’t be able to stop watching it.

I suddenly feel bad about the fact that I’ve never attended a monster truck rally. The people in the audience seem like they’re having so much fun, and… AAAAHHHHHH!!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!?!?!?!?!

– Well, it’s good to know that at least one of the comics I listed in my “10 to Avoid” lived up to the anti-hype. I’m actually sort of amazed that someone at DC thought this panel (and associated storyline) from Catwoman #1 was actually a good idea.

Graeme McMillan at Newsarama really sums it best:

Yes, that is Catwoman having sex with Batman. You know, that thing that those people who really wanted to see used to have to go online and search for? Now it’s right there in the comics themselves! Obviously, a victory for people with specific fetishes and limited imaginations and/or Google skills…

Honestly, when I first saw that panel online, I had to locate the issue myself just to be 100% certain it wasn’t a piece of fan-art.

– I don’t follow boxing in any way, shape, or form, but I was in a store the other day and heard people talking about the end of a recent fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Victor Ortiz. What they were saying about it was so wild, I had to find some video online.

Well, it was definitely a crazy way to end a boxing match, that’s for sure. Check it out for yourself:

– On an equally crazy, but significantly cuter note, someone on Facebook (I’m not sure who) posted this video of professional wrestler Kenny Omega facing off with a 9-year-old girl named Haruka.

Yes, you read that correctly.

And I have to admit, this Japanese wrestling match is so weird and sweet, I’m not sure whether to call Child Protective Services or check my sugar levels.

– Changing gears…

I don’t actually use ketchup or mustard that often, but I might make a habit of it if I could shoot them out of a CONDIMENT GUN!

(via LaughingSquid)

– I have Doctor Who comic book writer Tony Lee to thank for passing this very true, very necessary reminder along:

Seriously, people… Don’t do it. Don’t watch The Jersey Shore. Trust me: I’ve met the cast.

– Finally, while I think this “Pepsi Bottle to Brighten Up the Day” video is pretty cool and all, I can’t help wondering how far the money it cost to make it would’ve gone in a village like the one it’s showing.

Also, I tried visiting the website listed at the end of the video about six times, but I keep mis-typing letters. An easier URL could’ve also gone a long way toward helping the cause.

– Oh, and just in case you haven’t heard the news about this year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special, here’s the text of the official press release from BBC America:

UK COMEDY STARS JOIN MATT SMITH IN THIS YEAR’S DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Emmy nominee Steven Moffat has penned the episode which is now in production

Production has started on the 2011 Doctor Who Christmas Special in which the Doctor (Matt Smith) finds himself in war-torn England embarking on a magical and mysterious adventure with a young widow and her two children.

A stellar guest cast including Claire Skinner (Outnumbered), Bill Bailey (Black Books), Arabella Weir (Skins, The Fast Show) and Alexander Armstrong (Armstrong & Miller), join Matt Smith in the emotional festive special, packed full of Christmas thrills and chills.

Steven Moffat, Lead Writer and Executive Producer, commented: “The Doctor at Christmas – nothing is more fun to write. Maybe because it’s so his kind of day – everything’s bright and shiny, everybody’s having a laugh, and nobody minds if you wear a really stupid hat. Of all the Doctors, Matt Smith’s the one that was born for this time of year – so it’s the best news possible that he’s heading back down the chimney.”

The special, set during World War II, sees Madge Arwell and her two children, Lily and Cyril, evacuated to a draughty old house in Dorset, where the caretaker is a mysterious young man in bow tie, and a big blue parcel is waiting for them under the tree. They are about to enter a magical new world and learn that a Time Lord never forgets his debts…

Claire Skinner said: “I am thrilled to be in Doctor Who playing Madge who is a bit of super-mum. It’s a magical part.”

This marks Matt Smith’s second outing as the Doctor at Christmas time and will follow hot on the heels of the successful 2011 season. The season finale, “The Wedding of River Song,” written by Steven Moffat premieres Saturday, October 1, 9:00pm ET/PT on BBC AMERICA.

Steven Moffat is Lead Writer and Executive Producer with Piers Wenger and Caroline Skinner, also executive producing.

Filming on the Christmas special will continue until mid October 2011.

It’s hard to believe another season of Doctor Who is almost over, eh?

Have a great weekend, everyone!