Wacky Shenanigans!

'Wacky Shenanigans!' is an expression that is used early and often on the great podcast known as Slow Robot A Go-Go. If this name sounds familiar to you, this may be because earlier this year I had the distinct pleasure of chatting with one of the hosts mOw. (You can find mOw's interview under 'Podcasts, B Movies and Asian Influence-Oh My!' which ran on 2/13/13.)

Recently during a listen to Slow Robot A Go-Go, I felt compelled to write about them again only this time, I would be mostly concentrating on how much I love this show and why you need to check it out. Slow Robot A Go-Go is nothing like anything else I've heard and that's a good thing. Sure, there are a lot of podcasts and radio shows dedicated to the discussion of movies. I've heard a few great ones but for one reason or another, I cannot seem to get enough of this one and it's become my 'Go To'.

This show is manned by mOw and his cohort Dr. Morbius (from parts unknown). These two guys really sound like a couple of old friends just hanging out, shooting the breeze about movies and a whole lot of other interesting topics. The fact that they sound so unrehearsed and real makes the show even more appealing.

A few notes before I delve into this show review...You should have a pad and a pen ready to make a list of movies. The reason being is because once these two guys get going discussing movies, you might just be intrigued enough to find out more about or just to watch whatever they discuss. My Netflix queue has tripled in size due to a lot of the movies that mOw and Dr. Morbius have discussed on their show. Having an open mind is also a great idea. If you're looking for someone to discuss the latest thing at the box office, you may be disappointed. (Yes, at times, they DO discuss current movies but that's really not their stock in trade. More on that in a minute.)  My movie viewing horizons have been broadened due to listening to this show and I'm watching things that I might have passed on previously. Last but not least, if you're a lover of the old black and white films, really obscure stuff or just flat out love B movies, this podcast is for you.

The format of this show is that mOw and Dr. Morbius (from parts unknown) review and mull over B-Movies of all eras. Some of their movies are complete stinkers and others are beloved classics. The show will usually begin with information on where you can find and listen to this show. (I will include that info at the end of this review.) After that, the two then discuss what they've watched in the prior week. The things they watch are sometimes movies and at times, just documentaries or football shows among other things, often with hilarious commentary.

One of the current things that mOw has been spending a lot of time with is his 'Van Damme A-Thon' where he is watching every single Jean-Claude Van Damme movie from the first one to the most recent. He then discusses each movie and his thoughts about them.

The two hosts also will sprinkle a good bit of chatter about music in amongst their movie talk. Both mOw and Dr. Morbius have avid interest in music and really delve into the merits of a band, musician or musical style, often in great detail.

After they've gotten that out of the way, they settle into more of a formatted show. Some of their pre-mpvie reviewing patter includes a 'This or That' list which may or may not have to do with movies. An example would be 'Coke or Pepsi?' or 'Mustang or Camaro?'. Other times they have a Top Ten List(s), again movie related or not as this past show demonstrated where they both had their own lists of 'Favorite NFL Football Players of All Time'.

They also have a 'Versus' format to the show where they each pick a film and compare and contrast their opinions of the movies that they've chosen. Normally, however, they just choose one movie and break down the good, the bad and the ugly of the chosen movie. They're not always in love with everything that they've picked out for the week's show and they will lay out their reasoning in an amusing yet honest way.

Both mOw and Dr. Morbuis are fans of such things as Roger Corman movies or flicks that the great Ray Harryhausen worked on for example. I love the fact that they are willing to discuss more of the classic movies as opposed to the newer, flashy, CGI-laden products that one finds at any given theater. The show seems to harken back to the movies of older eras, where the action wasn't so ' in your face' and you could also use your imagination more. Due to listening to this show, I've gone back to watch a lot of older horror movies such as 'The Abominable Dr. Phibes' and 'The Island of Lost Souls' which came out in 1932. I've also rented such things as 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms' and the original version of 'The Fly' to name a few.

When it comes time to take their two breaks, you can bet that mOw and Dr. Morbius will run a trailer or two of some super obscure or Grade B movie from 'back in the day'. I do not know where they find these trailers but in my eyes, they are B Movie Gold.

This past show, the guys watched three versions of 'King Kong', the 1933, 1976 and 2005 versions. They compared and contrasted each one. I've seen all three of these and was wowed by how great the original was, knowing that back then we didn't have the technology that exists nowadays. Dr. Morbius' viewpoints on the 1933 version was that he liked this version the best and went on to say that this was 'one of the best movies ever made' and one of his 'all time favorites'. Both he and mOw then discussed the 1976 version noting that there was a lot that alluded to the 1970's culture within the plot and dialogue. mOw also shared that a 40 ft King Kong robot was created that ended up not working. (One of the best parts of listening to this podcast is all the trivia that the guys love to share with the listener. I eat that stuff up!) They had this to say about the 2005 version of the movie that Peter Jackson was very faithful to the source material and that the CG was well done and the movie well casted. After they rated the three films, they then threw out names of other movies where an ape/chimp/monkey dominated the plot, including 'Mighty Joe Young' and 'Son of Kong'. (You can bet I will be adding these to my Netflix queue.)

This show runs for an hour but I could easily listen longer. The patter between the two hosts never gets dull and I find myself learning something along the way. My rating for this podcast would be two thumbs up. (Or 5 stars.)

You can find out more about Slow Robot A Go-Go by going here-

slowrobotagogo.wordpress.com or bunchofdorks.com. You can find them on Facebook at the Slow Robot A Go-Go Facebook page or you can follow them on Twitter at @slowrobotagogo. You can listen from links on each of these places.

You can also hear them on Slice Radio as well as Stitcher Radio. (stitcher.com) and iTunes.

So, go ahead and check them out! If you like what you hear, feel free to hit them up on any one of those links above and tell them yourself. They will be happy with any new listeners that find them!

All The Rods and Planes Too

I just don't talk about cars and trucks within the All The Rods realm as planes will at times get equal billing. Having said that, I'm pretty stoked to see the new offering from Disney which is known as 'Planes' or as I've seen in a few locations 'Cars with wings'. I already know that the critics have savaged this new movie but that won't be enough to keep me away. From what I've read, the plot is fairly close to 'Cars 2' which came out in 2011. I'm not going to give too much away here. It appears that cars are part of this movie as well. For me, my interest mostly lies beyond the general story and more with the way that each plane is characterized.

I adored 'Cars' when it first came out back in 2006. I've even gone as far as buying the DVD and collecting quite a bit of the diecasts that were offered by various stores. Disney definitely made their money on me as I also collected Cars dishes and towels among other things. I don't think I'm going to go quite as nuts this go-round but we'll see.

My interest in planes came about in a strange way actually. Soon after I had become a car addict, I began a slow-growing passion for planes...

I had flown before but the last time I stepped foot on a plane was September 9, 2001. I had flown to Massachusetts (Boston's Logan airport to be exact) on September 7, 2001. I was up there visiting with friends. The weather was gorgeous that weekend and plenty of fun was had by all. I stepped onto the flight to head back home on Sunday, never imagining the hell that was to be unleashed on us in a couple of days.

September 11 was a day that sticks in many minds and it is still never far from mine. I was in the process of starting a job on the night shift at my company and my body was still on first shift hours as I awoke that morning. I signed onto the computer to start my day and came to realize that life would never be the same again as I read one horror story after another, regarding planes being flown deliberately into buildings as well as one into an empty field. I felt like I was in a bad dream, one which as much as I tried I could not awaken from. To make matters worse, a couple of the flights that had been flown into the Twin Towers had left from the same airport that mere days ago, I had also flown out of. Also the friends whom I had just visited lost friends of theirs on both of those flights. (Flight 11 & Flight 175.)

Like the rest of the country, I was glued to CNN for days, watching the aftermath of this disaster. At that time, I was a nervous flyer at best and knowing what I knew then, I became someone who was deathly afraid of flying. At that time, I was locked in my fear so deeply that any trips I would take thereafter would only be via car. I think the fact that planes had flown out of Logan to crash into the World Trade Centers really left quite an impression on me. I could not stop personalizing this and the nightmares were plentiful.

Right around this time, the National Geographic Channel on TV was airing a show called 'Seconds From Disaster' in which an accident, a bombing or some other tragedy was highlighted. Each episode would break down what happened, how it happened and the scientifics behind it. As 2002 rolled around, some plane crashes were also featured on this show such as Flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11 as well as many others. I began to absorb all I could, learning about why some planes crashed and the safety inventions that had been implemented to ensure that such accidents would never occur again. Around this time, the channel was running another program called 'Air Emergency', also known as 'Mayday' or 'Air Crash Investigation'.

As the years wore on, I began to find more of this sort of programming online especially on You Tube. I began to watch these shows with avid interest, gaining knowledge on what made these planes crash and how some folks managed to survive them. I think that the knowing how these accidents happened went a long way in lessening my fears. I began to learn new terminology as well. And as I have a mind for memorizing dates and other information, I could recite the history of a lot of these crashes. These programs would show the crashes, what led to these and even have interviews with some of the survivors. Along with all of this, I became interested in different types of jets and could tell the difference between a 747 and an L1011. I don't feel confident enough or know enough to build a plane from scratch but can appreciate the majesty that the Concorde or an Airbus A380 brings.

As my interest in planes picked up, I wandered around You Tube, watching documentaries on such things as The Concorde and the 747. (As an aside, the plane that I most wanted to travel on was the Concorde because for some time, their safety record was excellent. This was well before the crash in France in 2000.)

A couple of years ago, MacDill Air Force Base had their annual Air Fest. (This program was sadly ended due to government funding cuts.) I braved the rainy and windy weather in late March 2010 to attend this. The Blue Angels were supposed to be there but cancelled due to the weather. I took a lot of photos that day as a good portion of planes and jets were open to the public. I was able to climb onto the Coast Guard's C130 Hercules as well as the Stratofortress. At that time, I began to appreciate the beauty of these immense machines. My favorite part of the whole day was a demonstration using a C17. We were not allowed on it but instead the pilots took it up for a flyover. What a beautiful plane!

The plane in the photo above is a C17. This is the cargo jet that carries such things as tanks, trucks, ammo, tanks and at times soldiers. To see something this massive flying so gracefully is something that I love to witness.

Below are some of my photos from Air Fest 2010....

B52 in shot above. Also known as the Stratofortress

The above shots are of the C17 taken at Air Fest 2010.

The above photos are of another favorite, the Coast Guard's C130 Hercules. I loved seeing this amazing Rod of the Sky close up. The public was invited to tour this one as well. The local Coast Guard Air Station is located at the St. Pete Clearwater Airport and has the honor of being featured many times on the Weather Channel's 'Coast Guard Florida' program. There are about 4-5 C130s at this station at a given time. They are also out and about flying over. I see them often while I'm on break at my day job. You can always tell when they are near due to the steady and constant thrum of their four props beating against the sky. Like an old Volkswagon Beetle, they have their own distinct sound. 

A good friend of mine uses a phrase that would be pertinent here, 'what used to curse has come to bless', meaning that something that once filled me with terror and fear has taken on a life of its own. I no longer fear flying as I once used to. I just haven't had an opportunity to fly anywhere lately. I no longer fear planes or jets and now find myself looking skyward on a daily basis. It doesn't hurt that my home is in the flight path for Tampa International Airport. I tend to see a lot of the gorgeous Southwest Airlines planes coming over. 

Above is the gorgeous Southwest jet. Whenever one is flying over, it's hard to miss. 

Another thing that I would love to explore is Plane Spotting. This is where people will gather at some of the larger airports with bigger planes and the airlines with more international flights. With more international jet traffic will come bigger and more unusual jets in an array of colors. I once read an article on CNN about this and it sounded like something really cool. The people who do this are normally found outside nearby the runways, where they gather to take a lot of photos of the planes they see. You can find tons of these videos on You Tube. There are also great websites dedicated to planespotting as well as airline information. My favorite site is NYCAviation.com. They also have a great Facebook page. If you're interested in aircraft in general, there are many blogs on Tumblr and dozens of Facebook pages dedicated to this. 

VW BEACH BASH-EVENT POSTER

VW BEACH BASH-EVENT POSTER

Hmm, looks like an event that All The Rods might like to cover.

All The Rods...All The Time

Long before the idea for All The Goods...All The Time had taken root, there existed All The Rods...All The Time. This was actually a saying that I would use whenever I was out driving around and seeing some great cars. Before we go on, you have to know this about me...I love cars! All of my friends know this and accept this fact. It's just one of those things. Now that All The Goods has gained some mileage (a car reference, of course), I felt it was time to back All The Rods...All The Time out of the garage and take it for a spin. (You knew this was coming, right?) But I digress.

All The Rods was one of the 'behind the scenes' things that I've hinted at in other posts. I just needed to sit down and work out what I would write about. (Oh, don't worry! All The Goods isn't going away anytime soon; it's just being modified.) A little history first about the All The Rods concept...

It wasn't until the past fifteen years or so, that I began to develop my interest in cars, trucks and everything in between. Before that, they merely existed to get me from Point A to Point B, although as a youngster, I recall being interested in the beauty and grace of older classics and American Muscle of the day. About thirteen years ago, I fed my growing addiction to cars by purchasing the PT Cruiser. I fell in love at first look and that love really hasn't died off, it's only been joined by the love of many other cars. It seems that whenever I get addicted to something, the first thing I do is rush off and find other like-minded people to share my addiction. This addiction to the PT Cruiser led me to the amazing bunch of people in the Tampa Bay PT Cruiser group. 

I joined that group in 2001 and am still a member, as are many others. Most of them have sold their PT Cruisers and have bought everything from a Smart Car to a Prius as a replacement. We still manage to get together for dinner every now and then. Just because the car went away, doesn't mean that the friendships have died off. A good bunch of those folks are on Facebook and we're still interested in each other's goings-on. As the membership in the Tampa Bay PT Cruiser group grew, we began to participate in tons of car shows. It was in doing these shows that my appreciation and desire for other vehicles grew by leaps and bounds. At any given car show, the pictures I took were not just of PT Cruisers. I took tons of shots of Mustangs, Camaros, vintage trucks and other things too. Anything that looked cool and I liked I took photos of. 

I don't do the car shows anymore. That sort of petered off as more members of the Tampa Bay PT Cruiser club sold their cars. Instead, I make up for missing the shows by taking as many photos of other peoples' cars as possible. I am forever seeing something gorgeous, unique or just plain awesome, whether in traffic or in a parking lot such as the Camaro photo in this post. I found that bad boy outside a local market. It is my favorite color for the new generation Camaro. 

Old truck seen while at a stoplight

The above photo is just one of many examples of the sorts of things that catch my eye on any given day. I'm not quite sure what the model is on this old truck but I can see that it's been modified a bit. I had my window down and I could hear the thrum of that engine as I sat there, taking it in. One of my quirks while in traffic is to mute whatever is playing on the car radio and lower my window to listen to the music of the road, in particular anything with dual exhaust or a huge hood scoop. Yeah, I'm sniffing noxious gases, but the sounds coming out of these beauties is some of the prettiest music I've heard. I'm sure I'm not the only that does this. 

Bumblebee Edition Camaro

Bumblebee is a character from the Transformer movies; he's known as an Autobot. He's one of the good guys; the bad guys are the Decepticons . It's kind of interesting the way I got into the whole Transformers thing. I never watched the cartoons when I was younger. I'd heard of the Transformers but had little to no knowledge about the whole concept. A few years ago, when I still had HBO, I watched the first Transformers film and instantly fell in love with it. I loved that there were cars/trucks that turned into robots and the idea really appealed to the little kid in me. Bumblebee was the character that resonated with me the most. The first Transformers movie came out in 2007 and I didn't see it on TV until early 2009. In 2007, the new generation Camaros weren't even on the marketplace and I saw none in traffic. I remember thinking that it would be so cool if GM put that Camaro on the road. People had been clamoring for the return of the Camaro after they stopped making them in 2002 or so. Now that the new generation is out, I see tons of them. GM has even brought them out in a convertible as well. 

I'm one of those people that loved the whole retro idea that a lot of the Big 3 automakers had come up with. The Ford Mustang is a great example of this. A close friend of mine bought a 2007 Stang because it reminded her of how they used to look in the 60's. Ford really hit it out of the park on this one; they sold like crazy. The Mustang is one of my favorite cars and I love every generation of them.

Shelby Cobra, not sure of year, prob 2007 or 2008. 

(The lunatic in this photo is Joe Walsh.) 

 Shelby Cobra GT500 Super Snake

The Super Snake is a car on my Bucket List of dream cars to test drive. I've done a lot of test drives in my day. In late 2010, I attended the Tampa Bay International Auto Show and they had a program there for people that wanted to test drive different GM models. Naturally, they included a Camaro and then the Camaro SS. The only restriction was that you also had to drive another GM product aside from the Camaro. I drove a Chevy Cruze which was a fun little car with surprising pickup as well as an enormous GMC Sierra Denali. The Sierra had a lot of pickup (get it, pickup? Snort!) for such a huge truck. I liked the features of the Camaros I drove but the only issue I had is that I couldn't clearly see out of the windows. I once heard a guy on a radio talkshow say that it felt as if that car had portholes. The thing is, I'm short and I need to be able to see. This is another reason why the PT Cruiser was so appealing; it offers enough windows for me to see very well out of from all angles. I've also driven a V6 Mustang in early 2006 at a local dealership. I could see out of those windows and had a blast driving it. One thing I did like about both muscle cars is the way that the front seats felt. I felt like I was being hugged. I think that's the allure of the bucket seats; they're low to the ground and they seem to mold to one body better than a standard seat in another car model. Tell ya what, my seat in my PT does not feel like that; I wish it did. 

Anyway, as I progress through All The Rods...All The Time, I will probably talk about local auto events and everything in between. As I get a flash of inspiration, I will come and share it here with all of you. The thing that I probably won't touch on much is the technical aspect, meaning anything under the hood. I really don't know enough to talk about that, so I'll refer you to the people that know this stuff like the back of their hands. Just Google Auto Blogs and you'll probably find them.

All The Goods is still here!

Got some new things on the horizon for this site; been working on stuff behind the scenes. Trying on new ideas and discarding others. Will be back writing soon.

Another year older

One of my favorite vehicles of all time

Well as of today, I am another year older. Jury is still out on whether I'm another year wiser or not. Sometimes I think I am but then life forces me to realize that I still have further to go. It seems as I get older, I'm beginning to take more chances. This very website is a great example of that. A year ago, this website wasn't even a thought. I started this the end of last year, mostly because I had a lot of time on my hands and not a lot of things to fill it. I have to say that working on this blog has been so rewarding in so many ways and it is the gift that keeps on giving. I still have people yet to interview as well as another interviewee waiting on deck. Doing this has definitely increased my confidence in unexpected ways. 

I find myself putting my artwork and writing out there in a way that I never expected. I've always written; I've been writing since I was 11. That was a very long time ago. I'd mostly written fiction, always too shy to put it out there. I'm also a bit lazy and smart enough to know that had I wanted to be a paid author badly enough, I'd have taken the appropriate steps to make that happen. I still might, you never know. But the little voice in my head could not be ignored and All The Goods is the result of that. I felt that this site was a good first step.   All The Goods has opened doors for me that I never knew existed; this blog has literally changed my life for the better. 

Along with that, there have been many supporters along the way, who will be thanked accordingly. Had I known how much support would come my way, I'd have gotten started a whole lot sooner on this blogging path. But then again, maybe in the past the time wasn't right. But the time has never been more right than it is now. 

What's that expression? Carpe Diem? I believe that means 'seize the day'. As I reach midlife, I've gotten into the habit of saying to myself, 'if not now, when?'. I want to make my mark on this world and this blog is a good way to accomplish that. I have a good start at least. 

I actually began writing today's post a bit earlier in the day but had to stop and save it due to lunch plans. In the time between then and now, miraculous events have taken place. Things have shifted in my world to a very positive end. I feel that the upcoming opportunities were divinely guided. The universe heard my deepest desires and set about making them happen. Now I just have to show up and deliver. 

So, things are going very well on this birthday which will be over in another couple of hours. I think next year is going to rock, I can just feel it. 

Before I conclude this posting, there are people to thank. I've become more grateful as time has gone by and I try to make it a point to say thank you as much as I can. I want to thank all of the people out 'there' who have found their way to this page and have had a look at what I've been up to. I see the pageviews and it's pretty awesome. So thanks to all of you.

In no specific order, my never ending thank yous to the following people/websites-

Pandora.com-I listen to this station all the time whenever I'm writing here or working on my art. 

Blogger.com-for helping me along to make this site what it is and yet to be

Pinellas Park Art Society-for the help, advice, encouragement and last but not certainly least, the friendships that have sprung up from my association with those fine folks

Cyndi Bird Reznik-for her friendship and support of what I've got going on here at All The Goods

Elaine Salter-who readily supports my vision for this site as well as all my art ventures

Mary Barbara-for her guidance and encouragement

Barbara Lewis, Joy Hawkins and Terri Mills-for your friendship, ideas and support

David & Susan Tolar-for their friendship, support and making things happen

John Wetton-for the inspiration and all of the great music through the years

Florida Botanical Gardens

Pond at Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo

Today was the day I chose to visit the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo, FL. I had gotten there about midday and had all sorts of grandiose plans for shooting an array of pictures. I had sorely underestimated how incredibly hot and humid it truly is outside, even in the shade. I managed to get a nice group of shots of various things in the park but the heat was just killing me. (Note to self-the next time I do this, I'm going to go in the winter when the weather is a bit more agreeable.) Luckily for me however was that it being a Monday, the place was not swamped with people. The only other people I actually did see was the groundskeepers and a man and woman who appeared to be there for the same purpose that I was, judging by their cameras and the enormous lenses attached to each. 

Despite the heat, the Florida Botanical Gardens are just beautiful. The pathways are kept clean at all times and free of debris. Every plant, flower and tree had a small placard in front of it which told the name of the species. There are also plenty of fountains and brooks flowing throughout the park. Some are man-made and the others are a bit more natural. 

The above is a shot of a small brook and pool. 

Everywhere I stood or walked, I could hear the clear crystal sounds of water bubbling, flowing or otherwise jetting out of a fountain. There is something incredibly healing about the sound of water whether it's moving slowly or pounding surf. 

One of the fountains within the Gardens

There's a fountain behind this greenery

View of McKay's Creek 

I love how everything is so vibrant and green within the confines of this little slice of heaven within an urban area. When I was walking through here, I could hear the cars out on the road but it was more of a sense of 'white noise' and after a while, I just stopped hearing that and focused on the sounds of water and nature. 

The above is a photo of the cactus and succulent garden

Shot of pond through building archway

 The above photo is the Cottage Garden

Planters and one of the buildings on the premises

The above quote was etched into one of the walkways

I'm happy that I did get the photos I wanted to but the heat index just did me in. The next time I visit the gardens, I intend to do so when the weather is much cooler.