Tuesday Triptych: The Little Sparrow

R.I.P. Dick Tufeld aka B9, the Robot from 'Lost In Space'

He was the man who provided the helpful, baritone-staccato voice that faithfully warned Will Robinson of danger & traded insults with that lame-ass Dr. Smith. Dick passed away a few days ago at the age of 85.

Image from the blog Big Cartoon News

He narrated some of our favorite cartoons & TV shows over the years. Just look at this resume! What a great voice!

When I was a kid & watching Lost In Space in syndication, I wished I had a robot like Robot. I came close in the 90s: I found some sound wavs Dick Tufeld had done as B9 to be used as audio "events" for PCs. It was awesome.

Thanks for the memories, Richard Norton Tufeld.

Previously:
The Sleestak Hunter Gallery Presents: Lust In Space

R.I.P. Sun Valley Market

Donna and I were walking home last Saturday night and I noticed that the Sun Valley Market sign was gone. This was on the door (click the pic for a better view)

Don't let the Sun Valley Market go down on me...

The note says:

Thank you all for your business these past 20+ years. We will truly miss this neighborhood and the friendships that were made throughout these years.
A new exciting store will take our place in the coming months... Please check back soon. - Sun Valley (last word obscured by ADT sticker. But, I'm pretty sure it's "Market")

This has replaced the old sign...

Say WHAT?!

I did a little Googling and found an image that matched the logo. That image led to something called Dribble. Apparently, Adrian Nita is the designer of this-here logo. And according to Adrian:

RoomService is a new high-end fine food and wine market located in San Francisco, CA.
This concept and idea is going to be marketed to people btwn ages 25 - 60.

Goodbye, Sun Valley Market. You were great when one needed a six-pack of beer or a bottle of fernet after midnight. You will indeed be missed.

Tuesday Triptych: Leftover Salmon In The Rain

Edited to add: According to my music-lovin' friend Mike, Leftover Salmon is a band. To be honest, the name does kinda ring a distant bell in my much-abused long-term memory. But, I can't recall if I've ever heard any of their music. So, my apologies if you came here hoping to see the band Leftover Salmon getting caught in the rain or something. Sorry.

Carry on!

Happy Year of the Dragon

To all my fellow dragons (I'm of the Yang Wood variety) and to all our friends & loved ones: here's wishing you a safe, healthy & prosperous 4710!


Check out Donna's Lunar New Year post over at duckndam

Misty (and silent), Water Colored Memories Of The Way We Was

So, the topic of KOFY's TV20 Dance Party came up over at Uptown Almanac.

I was on the show back in 1983.  Here's some video. Sort of.

PLEASE NOTE: THE FUCKING AUDIO WAS REMOVED BECAUSE IT WASN'T AUTHORIZED BY THE WMG.

So, in essence, you're about to see a silent movie made 29 years ago. It's like that recent movie The Artist. But, without, y'know, artistic integrity.

You'll recognize me right away right towards the beginning of this clip; I'm dancing like a dink and doing the "white man's overbite" (it's a dance move). I'm wearing a hat.

But, if you can hang in there until the about the 6:00 mark (just use the slider-thingy, you know how this works) you'll get a real "treat". My good buddy Lance and I perform what we naively called "comedy".

Lance and I won, like, $1000 for our school's drama club with that nonsense. And yes, we stole the name for our "group" from an SCTV sketch.

I have to admit, though- it was a lot of fun! Thanks to Lisa for saving the video all these years. And to Lance for getting it on YouTube. And thanks, WMG, for silencing my memories, you jerks.

Tuesday Triptych: Free Gloves

The Hummingbird

I finally managed to snap decent pics of this lil hummingbird whose been zipping around the cold, winter-barren branches of our carport lately...
 

Hang in there, lil hummingbird! Spring's not too far away...



Edited to add: My friend, Ellen, just sent me this link about a hearty hummingbird whose currently the toast of Manhattan.

Hummingbirds fucking rule!

PS: You should check out Ellen's Etsy shop here.

Previously:
Behind The Crow
Ducks In The Carport Or Any Port In A Storm

Inner Sunset sunset, SF CA, 1/14/12

I can't complain too much...

Inner Sunset sunset, SF CA, 1/14/12, a photo by Beej Weir on Flickr.

The Irving Street Skeleton Strikes Back!

Uh-oh. The Irving Street Skeleton feels a disturbance in The Force...

Previously:
Tuesday Triptych: The Irving Street Skeleton's New Look (for a New Year)

Enjoy Life

Sure. Why not?

Pink Bunny; Hard Times

Previously:
It's Hard Out Here For A Fir
Morning In An Elephant's Graveyard

Tuesday Triptych: The Irving Street Skeleton's New Look (for a New Year)

Previously:
Tuesday Triptych: The Ed Lee Tree

Happy Birthday, George Reeves

George died at the age of 45 in 1959. I'll let you Google the rest...

With all due respect to Christopher Reeve, I think George was and still is the best screen Superman. At least so far.

Hulk, Smashed.

Previously:
The Dark Knight On A Thursday Morning

Tuesday Triptych: The Ed Lee Tree

UPDATE: Cool! The third pic was used by SFist for their Day Around The Bay link round-up! Thanks, SFist!

Rideout Fountain: All Soaped Up For 2012

Donna was on her way to work yesterday morn and spied this scene in Golden Gate Park. Looks like the panther & the snake fell victim to some pranksters on New Year's Eve...

Happy New Year, Rideout Fountain! Photo by Donna Mallard

The old "dish soap in the fountain" maneuver. Or maybe it's clothes soap. Doesn't matter.

It's kinda pretty.

UPDATE: Donna's pic got used by SFist! Sweet!

Previously:
Irving Street Crime Beat: Junior Edition
Rideout Fountain in Golden Gate Park, SF

Kale: It's Not Just For Eating Anymore

Donna's latest blog post inspired me...

Kale is good for you. And pretty, too. But, I'm not sure if you should eat the purple part...

Kale by Mother Nature. Painting by Donna Mallard.

Coincidentally (but not ironically), Donna made an awesome kale & couscous salad for lunch yesterday. Please note this was a different bunch of kale and not what we have in the vase at the moment...

And so it was that later

as the TV told a tale.

We had salad, made up mostly,

of a greener shade of kale
(with apologies to Procol Harum)

I hope you're having a great New Year so far!