Friday, February 27, 2015

Jump (Part 2)

Time to finish our discussion on jumping today.
 We're going to look at some of more dangerous exercises when it comes to jumping, like off a roof for instance. Which is something we did constantly as kids. Sometimes with a homemade parachute (which was nothing more than a blanket) to striking cool karate posing before we hit the ground.

Heck! I practically LIVED on our roof in highschool. Always going up there to read, stare out at the sky, sun tan or plan a water balloon attack on arriving guests. The roof was it's own source of entertainment for us back in the day!

Last year I was up on my roof patching up a spot when I realized I couldn't get back down. The ladder had fallen over. So taking my pride I decided to jump off the roof like I'd always done in the old days.

It looked a lot smaller when I was younger. After half an hour of hemming and hawing I finally build up the courage (or lost the brain cells) to do it. I jumped.

A whole second of pure terror.

Luckily I hit the ground with no injuries and walked away thinking how my best days were not behind me yet.

PS- I don't think I'll ever do that again.
 Bonfire jumping. This is one of those memories I have to think back and say "What was I thinking?!"

Every New Year's we went out to a friends house and tried this out. Usually clearing the bon fire as we jumped but one year it just wasn't meant to be.

A buddy and me jumped at the same time on opposite sides, neither one of us realizing it until we collided right over the middle. I fell back and he fell forward.

He went to the hospital with burns on his hands, arms and chest. I went home without pants, shoes or socks. After that year, the New Year's parties were shut down and I haven't been near a bonfire since.
These days kids have jumpers for their enjoyment. I like these and though it's been a few years, I'd go in one again if given the chance. As teens we used to have (you guessed it) mock wrestling matches in there, where each "slam" was well timed and choreographed.

Have a good weekend folks!

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Jump (Part 1)

You know, we jump into, off of, over, in and out of many things. So today I'd like to talk about what some of those things are.
 First you have your classic Trampoline. Something we've all spent hours doing. Jumping off and on to the ground was asking for trouble but you did it anyway to show off... and some of you even have the permanent injuries to prove it.

Back in the days these things didn't have the spring protectors so a painful leg slip or arm pinch happened to the best of us. It happened to me and I'd much more prefer the spring pinch to a nut whacker.
 Later on someone came up with the brilliant idea of adding netting to the trampoline, enabling every teenagers dream of becoming a cage fighter. (Or WWE wrestler, which was what we used it for) I still like this idea and bounce with me nephews every so often with them on the one they have in their back yard.

I've seen 2 busted lips, 1 nose-bleeding pop and several "noggins" but am happy to say none were by me.

 Next thing I think about when it comes to "jumping" is fall. The only reward for raking the leaves is what came afterwards. As kids our parents had us fooled we were raking for our own entertainment when all the while we were doing the job for them.

Today I wouldn't jump into a pile of leaves for nothing. Not because of what may be crawling in there but of how hard my landing would be.

Never hurt as a kid but that doesn't tell me anything now.
One other thing we used to jump in as kids growing up in Mississippi was a cotton trailer. Every once in a while Dad would visit friends who were cotton farmers and we'd get to go out front with the kids and jump in the trailers full of freshly harvested cotton.

Besides landing on the occasional shucks the landing was always soft as a cloud. (Duh, it's cotton right?) But don't try to bury yourself in any of it. Gets pretty warm in there after only a few seconds. You're seriously drenched with sweat by the time you're done.

Still.... fun stuff!

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Setting Sail

 Ahoy there mateys! Just wanted to jog your memory again with showing you some of the toy boats you played with as a kid!
 Whether in the pool of the bath tub (bath tub for us) these were some of the toys that brought you the most happiness!
 Well, that and an Aquaman action figure.
Finally we come to another one of my mom's (and maybe yours too) ideas to make a popsicle raft to float through the ditches when it rained.

A great idea for kids who got a reason to be outside in the pouring rain having a great time and for the parent who's going crazy with a kid in the house and wants them out!

We'd race our rafts down the streets (since we didn't have ditches) but in Mississippi when we did, it was nervous to see your raft go under the ditch, wondering if you'd see it come out the other side or not. Sometimes if it was stuck in there not too deep we'd get a stick to push it through but if it stopped in the right spot under the driveway you were screwed!

Anyway, just some fun memories for the day to share!

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Taking flight (Part 2)

 Ah the paper plane! Such a classic. All of us at one school period or another, knew how to make one of these on the quick and shot them at each other when the teacher wasn't looking. Sometimes you'd write  note on it for your buddies to read:

"Let's grab the swings today at recess before any of the stupid girls do."

Ah, now those were the days...
 But later on in life (if you were like me) your paper planes started looking more like this. We changed it's shape to see how far we could get it to go. As kids up in our rooms if we got bored we'd just tear out a sheet from our notebooks and have a impromptu competition right then and there!

Bray and I once constructed the PERFECT paper airplane. I'm not kidding. It was a once in a lifetime experience that neither of us will ever be able to replicate again. It was that perfect.

We used two or three sheets of paper to make it sturdier, then some paper clips to the front and back to act as counter weights to the airplane.

The Result?

The smoothest flying paper airplane you've ever seen! It was a proud day for he both of us. Coincidently, we were working for the County Tax Assessor at the time, so that's where everyone's tax dollars went that day.

But it was worth it!!
 As kids we also played with the balsa wood planes as well. I don't see them around anymore so I wonder if they're still made. I have to believe they are because of their inexpensive production cost and added fun value.

Dang, talking about them makes me want one right now in fact!

Easy for any kid to construct these planes were good for a whole afternoon of fun.
Harken the Styrofoam Jet. Remember this puppy? I was so excited when Dad bought us one. A little harder to fit the wings in because of the tight fit an the cringing squeaking noise Styrofoam makes when you rub it together, putting on the stickers was fun too. (but then again, when isn't putting stickers on something fun?!)

Boy could these things sail too! It was a beautiful thing to watch them fly gracefully over the lawn. But if you hit a house to hard that may have signaled the end for your jet, since the thing wasn't built to withstand high impact collisions.

Again, another toy I don't see as much of anymore in my adulthood.

A shame.

Monday, February 23, 2015

Taking flight (Part 1)

Did you ever fly kites? I haven't in years but I remember flying them with my parents while on our annual trip to the beach. They were hard to get off the ground, hard to keep in the air and now I've come to find out, even harder to put together in the first place!!

Geez! How much patience did my Dad have with these things?! Seriously, I don't know how this came to be a popular activity with folks. Every time I try putting one together I'm guaranteed to break either the cheap plastic fabric or brace!

A few years back, my brother took his kids kiting and I tagged along. Man, seeing their faces light up on how high their kites went helped jog my memory to how fun it was when our kite hit new heights too.

Don't worry, I'm not that nostalgic for kites just got me wondering today...

Friday, February 20, 2015

March Movie Preview

Time to once again review upcoming movies for next month!
 Unfinished Business

Huh, that's funny. I feel the exact way as this picture when seeing the trailer. Vince Vaughn isn't even trying these days. This movies doesn't look the lest bit funny.

Pass!
 Chappie

I saw the preview and I cared even less about the movie. (which is surprising knowing how much I didn't care in the first place)

If they want to reboot the Short Circuit series, fine. Just don't expect me to believe he'll be more interesting than Johnny 5.
 Cinderella

I just threw up a little in my mouth and now my neck burns from the acid reflux.

Get Hard

A rich man going to jail, hires a black man to teach him how to survive his sentence. How does this script get the green light and Tremors 5 isn't even on the table for discussion!?

Looks like another month theater free for me!

Thursday, February 19, 2015

A lost art

Last month I was reading through some Calvin and Hobbes when I came across a strip that jogged my memory about using my armpit to make fart noises.

As unbelievable as this may sound I forgot I'd even known how to do that and quickly tried to do it right there on the spot. (Yeah, this is why Megan was worried about buying my Calvin and Hobbes in the first place)

To my horror I discovered that I'd lost the "gift" I once held so proudly of.

I'm going to try again some day but it'll have to be when Megan goes out because according to her, armpit farts aren't a good use of someone's time.

Psh! But what does she know?

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Snow

You know, with all the cold weather going around I have to admit I've never experienced a real "snow" before.

Sure it's iced over a few times here in Louisiana and even snowed a WHOLE INCH a few years back but to see your surroundings buried in the stuff is a foreign concept to me.

I went up to Baltimore 20 years ago today (whoa, time flies) and when I got up there they had about 6 inches of snow. We had a snowball fight that day then went inside for bed. The next morning the snow had melted to ice barely an inch thick. The whole 2 months I was there a "heat wave" came through the area and it was 70 degree weather before you knew it.

My buddy who lived there was shocked. "It's NEVER been like this in the winter" he'd tell me. I saw the disappointment in his eyes when he realized he wasn't going to be making fun of the southern boy who "couldn't stand a little cold"

I have to admit I was a little upset too. I wanted to build a snowman. Not the snowman I built when I was 13 that was 2 feet high and took it all the snow that covered our front lawn. A REAL snowman. One my height that took a while to build. (and didn't look so dirty like the one we made)

Never made a snow angel or went sledding. The closet I ever came to doing so was at my grandmothers in Alabama. Whenever it snowed an inch or 2 (at most) we'd slide down her hill on disks. Fun to do but still not close to being the real thing.

Never skied or had a real snowball fight except for that one day in Baltimore.

Now before I give you the wrong idea here, I'm not complaining either. I hate cold weather. Snow would be nice to see every once in a while but for an entire season?!

No way Jose! I'm happy hear in the 40 degree winter wonderland of Louisiana instead!

Princes of the Universe: Episode 8



In this Episode, Bruce and I talk about Star Wars, it's latest news, Radio Dramas and even a few quotes supporting the EU. We also talk about Spiderman entering the MCU.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Ultimate Playground

 Though I've basically run down all the playground equipment in my posts last week I did have one more thing I wanted to say about these all-in-one sets.

They were around as a kid and are way more popular today then back when, but all the same it was so much fun playing on these things growing up.

Our was a different version of the one shown above but had the same things. A slide, a shaky bridge (which I loved the most) some resemblance of a fort a net to climb and a straight pole to slide down.

One of my best memories was when this girl ran across the shaky bridge to jump on to the pole but on her jump she hit the top of the iron rod used to hold the pole in place. We watch in slight amusement as she crumpled in the air and dropped flat on her face.

I say "in amusement" not because we hated the girl but rather the image it portrayed. Something I'll most likely never forget for as long as I live.
Today these things look amazing and though I'm way too old to play on them anymore, the kid in me gets a little jealous to see others enjoying their time on one. They make inflatable ones that look fun too but after spending a few minutes in there with kids I felt my temperature rise to 105 degrees and my heart trying to break away from my chest.

Not the spirited youth I remember being back in the day!

Monday, February 16, 2015

Saturday Morning Samoflange Episode 7



This Episode is all about our Top 5 Romcoms!

President's Day

 
Happy President's Day suckers! I'm off today since it's a bank holiday.

Think of me while you waste away at your job.

Ha comma ha!

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Happy V-Day folks!

Hopefully you'll get a nice box of chocolates to munch on instead of these old nasty things!

Friday, February 13, 2015

The Jungle Gym

 Last on my list this week is the Jungle Gym. Something you found on just about every playground back in the day. The above picture being the most basic kind you would find. We didn't climb on this one that much but rather used it as our "prison" when playing different games.

We once played "King of the Mountain" on it until the first loser tumbled to the ground and we all received a spanking for it.
 Another version of the Jungle Gym looked like this. Unlike the first one, we'd actually climb on this one and see who could hang upside down the longest.

Yeah, not my favorite game either.
Of course you have the straighter ones you either climbed over (which I never did) or swung on the bars like Tarzan. (which I always did)

You'd also pretend the ground was lava or shark infested water that you were crossing over. Gave things more meaning when you added those darling threats to the game.

That's all for this week. Have a good one folks!

Thursday, February 12, 2015

The Merry Go Round

 Not every playground had one, but those lucky kids that did had a blast playing on them! Most from my childhood resemble the one shown above.
 An alternate version would be this.

How many memories do you have of holding on for dear life while the kids around you, sent it spinning as fast as they could?!

On top of that, how many of you remember the poor dope who didn't hang on and got thrown. Ouch, right?
 Do you remember this special number? It didn't move as fast as the regular ones did but it was easier to spin on the ground. Kinda gave you a running start!
And what about this one? Completely forgot about it until working on this post. We didn't use it that much and there was only one place I knew that had it but still, brings back memories.

The Merry-Go-Round was just another staple to every playground that wished to be worth it's salt. Though a rare sight to see, these "upgrade" the fun at any playground they're found on!

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

The Swing

Well this was an obvious choice when talking about playground equipment right? The swing was always a favorite at our playground growing up and you had to wait endlessly for a turn to swing. It got so bad at time that a teacher had to stand out there and tell the kids when your turn was over!

Also our church was the same location as the school so every day after the sermon the kids stared each other down during the benediction. Challenging each other to see who would make it to the playground first to grab the swings.

Pandemonium broke out after the "Amen" as we all went scurrying for a seat. There were only 3 swing on our set and one was made super low (for babies) so we didn't use it. The best was one that was higher than the rest. You got more air on that one and it was everyone's favorite.

It also was the only one I could ride, since I was taller than everyone else and my legs dragged using the other swing. But even the shorter kids made a dash for the high swing. They'd beg for a push (promising their seat afterwards) or started rocking back and forth to get their momentum going. I didn't need a push since my feet were long enough to touch the ground so if I made it on there first no "promises" were given.

I also recall a game where we measured our distance in dismounts from the swing. The person who went the farthest one. It was my favorite game to play as a kid!

 
Swings came in all shapes and sizes. Starting from the left and moving down you have what I called the "granny" swings since usually my grandmother would rock back and forth on those while we played. Then the baby swings for toddlers, a standard swing and a glider.
Gliders also looked like this and were fun for a little while if you had a partner, but go boring quick. Without a partner on the other end it was basically pointless to even get on them.

Here's another version of the "granny" swings I mentioned earlier. With a resting place for your feet, no kid would find this entertaining!

Lately I have seen newer swings popping up. These look like a disaster waiting to happen. Have 3 kids swinging every which way until one falls off or all three puke. Doesn't seem much fun if you ask me!

Of course there are other swings outside of the ones found on the playground. Tree swings (or what I called "country" swings) let you cover a lot of ground but never got you very high. (unless you had an adult pushing) We used to play on one growing up but I was never too impressed with it.

Some of you have memories of using a tire swing but I never did growing up. No one I knew had one of these. It was something I only see in movies and commercials but never in real life. I can't imagine them being any fun but then again, I've never used one so I wouldn't know.

Next up is of course the carnival swing. I LOVE these! They're so much fun and are really the only thing worth riding in my opinion. I know all the horror stories of these things snapping and sending patrons half way across the parking lot but I never worry when on them.

Don't know why that is, I guess I figure I could survive one if it happened. I dunno. But I've never hesitated to get on them!

Finally is the "thrill ride" swing. Created by some dope who thought he needed more than the simple pleasures a regular swing provides. It takes you up several hundred feet then sadistically drops you and lets you swing above the ground at new heights.

No. Thank. You.

If you see me on one of these call the cops because I've either been kidnapped or forced to get on one so save a family members life. And not any family member, mainly just mom and dad. For someone like Charity? Meh, I'll take my chances she comes out alive on her own!

By the way, if you're doing a search for these swings don't Google "adult swings" you'll get a whole different swing you didn't need to know about.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The Seesaw

Nothing like one of the classics eh? Remember the back and forth balance of keeping someway up in the air and either holding them there for a very long time or shooting up real fast to have them fall to the ground?

You could even be a jerk and hop off once the other person is airborne! (so mean!) But it was all about trust when it came to this playground joy.


I remember we had an old seesaw at our school that was super long and would lift you very high! (this is where the "get off and drop you" method was first discovered by me)

It was still a fun thing to play on.

Then there was the extremely confusing 4-way seesaw, which did nothing but tick you off because no one could make it up fully in the air without the other 3 rocking you back down. Seriously, what genius had this in mind when he imagined "fun" on the playground?!

More tomorrow!

Monday, February 09, 2015

The Slide

This week we're going to focus on the fun aspects of the old playground with a few fun notes along with it. The first topic I want to discuss is on, slides.
That's right. The old playground stalwart that was too hot in the summer and (in some cases) not that slick in the first place.

I remember mom teaching us a trick where we'd slide down on wax paper (which she used to wrap our school sandwiches with back in the day) and after a few tries, WHOOSH! The slide was super slick again!!

Mom should have had her on science show back then. She knows about every trick in the book!

Back on the playground, we never had fights over the line at recess. Yeah there was the occasional kid who got scared and wouldn't slide down (usually the littler ones) but over all it holds great memories of the playground for me.

Of course there are other slides we can talk about...

Most recognizable from the old days would be the pool slide. If your friend had a pool, they were cool. If they had a diving board, they were really cool but if they had a pool slide!?! They were the coolest kid EVER!

I loved sliding down into the pool on these things. It was the only way to enter a pool if you were a kid. Some came with water hoses built in while most just hung the garden hose at the top and let you slide on down.

Problem was, there's only one way to enter a pool through the slide. Feet first. Sure you could go head first but after you suffered half a gallon of water up your nose, you never tried it again!

Today there's one extra slide to add to the list, Inflatable ones. I'm not a fan of them to be honest. I sink of get hung up sliding down them, plus you can get some pretty bad friction burns sliding down one of these bad boys!

I'm sure to kids they're fun but it's not for me.

Now water slides? Yeah, that's a different subject.

Wanna know more about cool slides around the world? Check out this interesting article I found out about them. Pretty neat stuff!

Saturday, February 07, 2015

Saturday Morning Samoflange Episode 6



In this episode we discuss the Top 5 Movie Villains!

Saturday Morning Samoflange Episode 5


In this episode we talk about our childhood Saturday morning memories.

Saturday Morning Samoflange Episode 4



In this episode we talk about Worst Movie Sequels!

Saturday Morning Samoflange Episode 3


In this episode we talk about Best Movie Sequels and Series.

Friday, February 06, 2015

Saturday Morning Samoflange Episode 2


In this Episode we talk about our favorite TV Shows for 2015

Saturday Morning Samoflange Episode 1


In this episode we talk about movies we're looking forward to in 2015!

Saturday Morning Samoflange Episode 0



In this episode we do introductions and talk about the Best Movies of 2014.

Sear Wish Book

Remember the days when you were a kid and you couldn't wait for this puppy to come in the mail?

The Sear Wish Book was a childhood tradition where my brothers and I would take a pen and circle all the toys we wanted for Xmas. And there were a lot of them too!

 We'd tear through the catalogue a hundred times before Xmas. Checking the list of toys and "wishing" they were ours.
 They didn't show just a few of them, no. They showed entire collections on every page!
 We even used to play games among ourselves on who would get what toy. It was like an NFL Draft!
Me:  "Ok, I'm getting the Batwing."
Jeremy: "Ok, I'm getting the Batmobile."
Bray: Why do I get to pick last? I want the Batmobile?!"
Me: "Because you're a terd-monkey, that's why. Now pick!"

I used to think the kids in this catalogue were so lucky to have so many toys to play with.

That's all my thoughts for today. Have a great weekend folks!