A Perfect Combination

My birthday just passed recently -- don't ask how old I am now.

Anyway, I've gotten some good gifts in my time, but this one takes the cake. My friend seems to really know me, because she gave me the perfect combination of a few of my favorites, culminating in to a Darth Goofy bobblehead!And in his underpants, too. Classic.

The Art of Skiing

Following up on previous post of the Goofy holler, and the fact that I'm taking off for Big Bear this weekend to try some skiing/snowboarding myself, I thought this appropriate:

The Goofy Holler

As a hah-yuge fan of Goofy, I had to fall in love with this post from Michael J. Ruocco's blog For the Birds:

"YAAAAAAA-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOOOEEEYYYY!!!"
Recognize that onomatopoeia? It's the famous "Goofy Holler"!

The Goofy Holler's debut was in the 1941 cartoon The Art of Skiing, originally recorded by a professional yodeler by the name of Hannes Schrolle. Since then, it has become a staple of the history of cartoon sound effects and voices.

He was kind enough to make a compilation of Goofy Hollers, a la The Wilhelm Scream Compilation. See the video and read a bit more here!

200th Post! and KH2 Party

Yay! This is the Lounge's 200th post! And to celebrate, I went to a Launch Party last night. Well, that's not exactly true. It wasn't to celebrate the Lounge's 200th post...it was to celebrate the launch of Kingdom Hearts 2 - a Disney/Final Fantasy PS2 game. This is the sequel to Kingdom Hearts - my favorite video game.

One of my dreams came true last night as we had to walk down a red carpet to get in to the party. There were gaming magazines and press there, so they snapped some pictures, probably thinking I was someone more important than I really am. I notice when you raise your nose up a little and walk like you mean business, people actually think you are a celebrity in this town. So I just let them.

The party had an open bar so of course I took advantage with some vodka tonics. In the crowd I spotted a lot of Disney pop stars, like Hayden Pantierre and Jesse McCartney. Also there was Haley Joel Osment (who plays the lead role in the game) and David Gallagher (who plays a villain). But I got most excited about talking to Bill Farmer, the voice of my absolute favorite Disney character, Goofy. People said John DiMaggio (voice of Bender on Futurama) was there, too, but I didn't see him.

I also got to play some of the game: the Steamboat Willie section, some of the Lion King part, and the most fun - fighting alongside Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribbean.

The only dissapointing part of the night were the gift bags that surprisingly did not contain the game itself. Instead there was a gaming mag and a digital clock that wouldn't stop beeping.

But I'm still excited...this game is gonna be so awesome. The U.S. release is very soon - the date keeps changing, but last I heard it was in mid-April.

WTF is with Traffic??

I don't understand it. It's really like that Goofy cartoon "Motor Mania." People who are normally pleasant and respectable to their neighbor on the sidewalk (Mr. Walker) get behind the wheel of their car and turn into crazed animals (Mr. Wheeler).

To get onto the freeway from my apartment building you have to make a left. But not just any left. THEE most dangerous, life-threatening left turn in the world. The type where all the cars are big colorful blurs past you going whir, whir, whir, whir and your neck hurts looking right, looking left, looking right, looking left for an opening.

And then you see your spot! That little Frogger-like hole that you think your car can fit into, going 40 mph. You inch forward in anticipation and then HOOOOOONNNNKKKKKK!!!! "What the hell were you thinking, trying to get in here? This is my goddam space on the road!"

I have to do this every day. Right left right left right left - is it clear on that side? How about that side? Whir, whir, whir, whir... No one let's you in. Finally you just have to clench your teeth, take a deep breath, and put the pedal to the floor and hope that the Traffic Saint cuts you a break.

This morning I got honked at for just inching forward. Just inching. I wasn't even in the intersection - still on my street, nowhere near this man's way. But I got honked at. And then I got The Look that sometimes follows the honk. You know the one - the one that says, "There's no way in hell I'm letting you in, pal."

Reseachers have found the reason why mild-mannered joes become these motor maniacs once they get behind the wheel. Apparently once we get into vehicle we no longer see ourselves as human, but rather the machine that surrounds us. And we no longer view others as people in cars, but the cars themselves. We forget that these are people who have families, lives, and their own places to go.

I just wish people would be a little bit more forgiving when mistakes are made. Try letting three people in front of you a day and keep smiling. It's not easy, but give it a shot.

And lay off that horn for petesake!