the heat is on and a candyland championship game is in play
my absolute favorite game and the competition is tough
there is no crying in candyland.
—
“life is like candyland, there are many paths to take,
sometimes you run into lord licorice, but the end will always take you to the candy castle.”
-jack barakat
this sweet and treasured tiger
now has its own mask
making it even more special
there is an added joy in knowing that someone took the time
to design such a fun custom accessory for this much loved creature.
—
“mix a little foolishness with your serious plans. it is lovely to be silly at the right moment.”
-horace
mental floss has reached into their incredible research bag of treasures
to share some board games that may have had their time
but alas, have not remained classics.
below are a few gems and i’m not saying i wouldn’t want to play them,
i am a huge fan of board games of all kinds –
Aside from Parker Brothers, few board game manufacturers have come close to Milton Bradley’s track record: Millions of players across multiple generations have put in serious time playing Twister, Yahtzee, The Game of Life, and Battleship.
But while games like Simon and Connect Four have kept up brand appearances over the decades, it’s possible that founder Milton Bradley might have flinched at some of the other titles that bear his name.
The mythical woodland creature experienced a considerable amount of attention in the 1970s, including an encounter with Steve Austin on The Six Million-Dollar Man. (Andre the Giant was cast in the fur suit.) A famous and non-copyrightable beast made a perfect premise for a game in which players assumed the roles of Alaskan gold prospectors who roll dice while trying to avoid the “footprints” made by the monster. Although Bigfoot looks affable enough on the game box, his plastic game piece appears to be anything but.
TOWN DUMP (1977)
It’s never too early to get a child used to playing with garbage. In this game, two players take turns winding up a miniature bulldozer that propels itself through pieces of trash and pushes them out of the way. The object appears to be to clear waste out of your dump and into your rival’s property, which imparts a valuable lesson: Let your discarded trash become someone else’s problem.
LOBBY: A CAPITAL GAME (1949)
“Here’s your chance to be a congressman! You can pass all your favorite bills and lobby against those you oppose.” Milton Bradley felt confident a game of governmental regulations and lobbying would be a hit with anyone “old enough to read a newspaper.”
“Life is more fun if you play games.”
―
—
Credits: Jake Rossen-Mental Floss, Milton Bradley Company, Ebay photos
a family afternoon spent
practicing karate skills, self defense, getting a good workout
socially distant, outside, under a very hot sun
at beacon park, in detroit
lots of sweat, lots of water, lots of fun
“karate is a form of martial arts in which people who have had years and years of training can,
using only their hands and feet, make some of the worst movies in the history of the world.”
-dave barry
after spending the night at daughter #3s’ house
i woke up early at my usual farmer time
everyone else still fast asleep
hunted and gathered food items from their kitchen
soon realizing i had put together a ‘c’ themed breakfast
that was quite satisfying –
coffee with cream, chocolate cookies, cheetos cheese things, computer
i believe all food groups were well represented.
i know this guy might think that ‘c’ is only for cookie, but —
—
“health food may be good for the conscience, but oreos taste a hell of a lot better.”
-robert redford
crossed paths with a pizza out for a stroll
on a mission
headed for the river
pizza was sliced and ready
to float
to swim
to shoot the cascades
perfect conditions today for a pizza.
—
“the closest thing I use to beauty products is the grease on the pizza from John’s Pizzeria.”
-mark feuerstein
The T-Rex Walking Club parades in Ferndale,MI
The T-Rex Walking Club takes a stroll to bring joy during the coronavirus pandemic. A silly and secret club formed during the pandemic is on a quest to bring smiles to the faces of kids, and a few adults, while under Michigan’s stay home order.
On Friday, when Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended Michigan’s order, there was parade of a pink unicorn, followed by a gentle giraffe, a ferocious bear, a swinging stegosaurus, Scooby-Doo and a shark too, a tall pterodactyl, a trotting triceratops, a black-and-white penguin, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, a friendly T-Rex, another penguin, and a one-eyed Minion.
This motley crew, which calls itself the Ferndale T-Rex Walking Club, takes its unannounced strolls through neighborhoods. There are other characters, too, and a few members have costumes on order. On their next walks, you might see an additional unicorn, more sharks, a polar bear, a gorilla, a Godzilla, an alligator, a hippo, a flamingo, a zebra, and an upside-down clown.
Most members of the club are also members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.The point of the parade, is to cheer up the community during otherwise gloomy times and get children and adults to smile, said Oscar Renautt, who heads the Elks public relations committee.
The T-Rex club has its own set of rules. You must be invited; have an enclosed, inflatable costume; wear a face mask; and you can never, ever tell anyone where — or when — the group is going to go walking.
The founder, Ms. Ignash, received her pink unicorn costume one Christmas, has had it for years, and she’d occasionally show up somewhere in it for a laugh. Then, she posted the article in Facebook for local residents and they thought it was a good idea. Folks asked her to organize an event, so she did. It was right after the stay-at-home order, and within two hours, close to 200 people were interested.
Ignash decided that it was a totally crazy idea, and irresponsible to create crowds of people during a pandemic, so she canceled the event, and started over. Instead, she created a private group and invited just a couple of friends to join her. They went on a walk in costume, and then another, and another, adding a few friends — and characters — each time.
The costumes are so big that they naturally require the walkers to space out about six-feet apart, a social distancing requirement of the governor’s order. They also don’t want to spread the virus so they wear masks.Visibility inside isn’t so good either, and it can get hot inside the costume. So they don’t walk for too long. “But, it’s fun because kids really freak out,” Ignash said. “They see us coming, or they hear other people talking about us coming, and kids freak out. Its fun, just so much fun.”
—
credits: Frank Witsil- Detroit Free Press, Ferndale Elks Club
—
“a procession is a participants’ journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”
– Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking
on a
quick stop
to say hi
to the grandies and friends
I was lucky enough to enjoy
their indoor flying and blow-up forts created with fans.
life is good at the end of summer. 
“the end-of-summer winds make people restless.”
-sebastian faulks
you know that feeling
when you fall down
on the trampoline
and keep trying to get up
but everyone keeps jumping
and you keep bouncing
and then all of you
start belly-laughing
and keep belly-laughing
and cannot stop?
—
“life has its ups and downs, but you can only look forward.”
-frank lowy
