Shark Week 2026: Group Photo #5

    The plot to 1981's The Last Shark is so similar to Jaws that Universal sued, and the film was removed from theaters after two weeks. I like how the AI generated summary on IMDB states that the "shark" in this film resembles a pool float. 

    At least the filmmakers of The Last Shark tried to use their own special effects. In 1976's made for-TV movie Shark Kill, they used previously shot stock footage and wrote their boring screenplay around that.

    I'm using the soundtrack to West Side Story because the rival gangs in the film were The Jets and The Sharks. Even I'll admit that's a bit of a reach.

    What can I say about 2003's Shark Zone? It's the third sequel to 1999's Shark Attack, and a bunch of scenes were taken directly from Shark Attack: Megalodon and the unrelated Dog Watch. At least the cover looks good. This DVD is going back to Goodwill because...

     I now I own the four film collection the Shark Attack movies. I haven't even torn the plastic off of this set yet, but Casper Van Dien stars in the first Shark Attack film, and any movie with Johnny Rico can't be all bad.

    Today's vintage t-shirt is in honor of The Last Shark's inordinate amount of windsurfing.

Shark Week 2026: Group Photo #4

 

    Like the movie Jaws, The Deep also stars Robert Shaw. 

    Like the novel Jaws, the novel The Deep was also written by Peter Benchley.

    Like the novels Jaws and The Deep, the novel the The Beast two-part TV series is based on was also written by Peter Benchley.    

    Today's LP is Deceptive Bends by 10cc. I chose the album based on the cover art work by Hipgnosis. The LP's title was inspired by a warning road sign in Surrey, England. I assume the art work was inspired by the word "bends" being associated with the decompression sickness some sea divers can experience.

    I999's Deep Blue Sea is the only proper shark movie on the shelf today. I saw this film in the theater, and at the time I thought it was the greatest shark film ever after Jaws. I probably still think that.

    Here's the back of today's shirt. Charlotte found it for me when we were thrifting in Oceanside, CA. Good eye, kid!

Shark Week 2026: Group Photo #3

    For today's post I'm picking the soundtrack to 2021's The Suicide Squad due to the King Shark character voiced by Sylvester Stallone. You can see him there on the left.

    I think buying Blu-ray movies just because they have a slipcover is dumb. I thrifted 47 Meters Down because it came with a slip cover...

    One of my biggest thrift store pet peeves is getting stuck in the checkout lane behind someone who is is buying glassware. I found 47 Meters Down: Uncaged today at Goodwill, but the woman ahead of me ended up buying $93 in stemware. I was standing there for over 15 minutes while the clerk wrapped the glasses in brown paper. I hope the movie moves faster than that.

    1979's Up from the Depths was supposed to be a horror comedy, but Roger Corman had all the comedic elements removed in the editing room to make the film an outright horror piece. That didn't work. The VHS cover looks cool, though.

    I almost forgot to add this Flix Brewhouse picture from 2017 ----> link

    Today's outfit is courtesy of Snorkel Bob.

If You Know, You Know

Charlotte and I surprised each other with these t-shirt presents for Christmas.

I couldn't be more proud.

Thrift Store Show and Tell: Summer of '23 Edition pt.2

My summer thrift store show and tell continues with movies, books, and clothes.

Movies

Why would anyone buy a DVD today? 

Razvan Mihaila did a nice job of summarizing his article about the DVD's place in 2023: "While DVDs can’t match streaming platforms’ level of convenience, there are plenty of reasons to still watch DVDs in the age of streaming. Besides better audio and video quality, bonus content, or reliability, DVDs allow you to cut the cord from the streaming platform and build your own movie collection." (Mihaila).

We're not getting rid of Netflix or BritBox anytime soon. But it does make me feel better when people say DVDs and Blu-rays look better than streaming movies. I don't feel like such a fossil. Also, sharing a movie with a friend is a lot easier if you have it on a disc.

Another reason I like DVDs is that I take my old MacBook Pro with me when we travel. I prefer the 13' screen over my phone's screen, and as bonus the Mac can play DVDs (but not Blu-rays). That can be pretty handy if the AirBnB guest Wi-Fi isn't working.

Having a case of ten DVDs in my backpack wasn't a problem flying to Portland, ME, but I did get pulled over by security when flying back. The guard asked me what the discs were that they had scanned. I told him they were DVDs, and he patted my shoulder and said, "You're just like me. I like to know where my movies are. I don't want to depend on streaming." Couldn't agree more. 

I hadn't seen The Last Boy Scout since it came out in 1991. As far as being an action/ buddy picture, it still works. I had forgot all about the opening football scene. That had to surprise some people.

These "4 Film Favorites" DVDs are cool. They don't take up much shelf space and you get a lot bang for your buck (dad joke).

Charlotte attended a sleepover a few of weeks ago, and Daphne and I had a date night. We went out for appetizers, and then decided to watch a movie at home. When I explained the plot for The Punisher, Daphne replied, "So it's going to be like John Wick? Let's watch that!" We both had a good time, and I think it would have been fun to see Thomas Jane appear in another Marvel film.

Charlotte and I are now in the habit of watching movies together in the basement on Sunday nights. Char just turned 13, so that has opened up a lot more movies for us to watch. She has been wanting to see something scary with me, so I researched "horror movies for beginners." Several lists included The Sixth Sense. I thought that might be too bloody, so I opted to show her Signs. Same director; less blood. Daphne agreed, but Char did not. It wasn't for her. Not. At. ALL.

We stopped the film, but before I lost her to the great upstairs, I switched to Billy Madison. I had recently bought the DVD on a whim.  It was a HUGE hit. Man, did she ever laugh. I did, too. Char has declared that Billy Madison will now be the movie she shows her friends when they come to visit. High praise indeed. Char has seen the movie twice so far, and last night we watched the DVD's outtakes and deleted scenes - something you can't do with streaming. 

We watched  Happy Gilmore and Tommy Boy last weekend. Char gives both movies a 9 out of 10, but Bill Madison still rules (like the O'Doyles) at a perfect 10 for her. 

I'll buy a Blu-ray for myself over a DVD any day. They look better than DVDs and are more durable. This is why I picked up The Shining, Big Trouble in Little China, and It. I already owned the first two films on DVD, but unopened copies on Blu-Ray were an easy upgrade to make. Two for $4.98 is pretty cheap, but I found It at the dollar store. Even the clerk was surprised, "We have that here?"

Books

I'm a big fan of paperback novelizations of movies. I've collected quite a few over the years. It started when I was in 4th grade, and the original Halloween was a new movie. While my mom shopped on the other side of Kmart, I stood by the book racks and quickly read the last few pages of the novelization. Here are excerpts from the last page:

I thought, Oh No! He's not dead? He's still out there? The sun had gone down by the time we left the store. I kept looking behind us in the parking lot to make sure "The Shape" wasn't following us. When we got in the car, I asked Mom to lock the doors. I didn't tell her why, though.

Sly Stallone and James Cameron wrote Rambo: First Blood Part II's screenplay together? If the internet is to be believed, Cameron wrote the first draft, and Stallone made changes like removing the comic relief sidekick. 

Seven is one of those movies that is "one-and-done" for me. I won't watch that film again, and I won't even open this book. Still, this title will look good in the group on the shelf.

Amityville: The Horror Returns has a pretty weird plot. The family escapes to California to get away from the Amityville house in New York. After a business trip, the parents return to find that the house in California has transformed into the Amityville house and their kids inside are in danger. That reminds me of Jaws: The Revenge where the shark travels all the way from New England to the Bahamas to continue to attack members of the Brody family. I bought this because the back of the book states "Soon to be an NBC movie," but that didn't happen. I guess this isn't a novelization after all.

But Bonnie Hill did tape this sweet lable inside the front cover of her Amityville book. This must have inspired Prince's album artwork (previous post).

I think the person on the cover of Maniac (1987) looks a lot like Brendan Fraser. The only reason I bought this book was to write that sentence.

I think I saw You Might Be from Canada If... by Michael de Adder in every Canadian gift shopped we walked through on vacation. The book is really well done, and if you don't get the joke because you are not from Canada, then there's a reference section in the back.

Example page: You Might Be from Canada If...

Clothes (and food)

Our trip to Canada was originally planned back in '19 and '20. Those plans changed, of course. But no matter how they changed, the plans always included stopping by the The Holy Donut in Portland, Maine. When we finally got inside, I had the urge to tell the cashier that we've been waiting over three years to visit them, but that felt awkward. Daphne told me in the car that she almost said the same thing.

Here's the mural on the side of the building. What's in the box that Daphne's holding? There were half a dozen potato donuts, but one escaped before I could take a picture. I was mildly disappointed when I realized I had ordered a gluten free donut by mistake. Turns out that was one of the best donuts I have ever eaten.   

I was pretty excited to find a Holy Donut tee at a thrift store in Nova Scotia. 

Agreed.

When we first visited Charlottetown in 2016, I found some great stuff at their Value Village thrift store. I requested a return trip to VV when we went back to P.E.I for one night.  I found this SureWood Skateboards tee. Local rock bands, dive bars, restaurants, breweries, and businesses all make great subjects for thrift store t-shirts. For me the idea is to score something that can't be found back home. 

I saw several of these Molson tees for sale. I believe they were part of a give-away promotion in 2019, and there were a few different designs. I went with the lighthouse to remind myself how much fun we had climbing the rocks at Peggy's Cove. Again, these tees might be common sights in Canadian stores, but they make a unique souvenir to wear back home. 

PickWorld is a family run business located in New Castle, Delaware. They print their guitar picks in house, so if you have a need for custom picks, hit them up. This isn't a rock band shirt, but it gives off that vibe.

Okay, that's it for summer thrift. Let's see what fall brings.

Happy Father's Day!

I like to believe that I have a t-shirt for every occasion. Today I wore the equivalent of a dad joke.

 

Some people try to demoralize me by exclaiming, "Dad Joke!" when I try to be funny. 

I don't think they realize that they are actually giving me a compliment. 

Story Material: Poor Ron.

Char wore a Hermione Granger shirt on the first day of school. It's hard to see under her tie. 

Charlotte saw another girl wearing this shirt when we on vacation in January. She told me how funny the design was,"Dad, it's like, 'HERMIONE!'," Char snapped out an imaginary wand, "In action!" Char liked that Mrs. Norris the cat and Mrs. Mcgonagall were included. "But why was Professor Lockhart even on there? That's hilarious!"

We searched Google images when we got home, and found the shirt for sale on Kohls.com. Here's the whole Hermione design. 

Kohls sells other Potter character tees in the same style, and we wanted to see what they looked like.

For his shirt, Harry stands defiantly with the Sword of Gryffindor on his shoulder and with Hagrid and Professor Dumbledore at his back. A worried Dobby is there, too.

Draco is looking menacing while his dad, Crabbe and Goyle, and Professor Snape all lear at us for being muggles. Even the Hand of Glory mocks us.

Now let's see Ron's design. What?! The other shirts make their characters look cool. How come Ron has to make the ewww-face while wearing earmuffs? Hermione waves a wand, Harry has a sword, Draco holds his Nimbus 2001, and Ron is stuck clutching a crying mandrake? Ginny looks embarrassed for him, and Fred and George aren't supportive. They can't believe they're stuck on a Ron shirt. Instead of the flying car he flew to school, Ron gets the Howler his mum wrote. 

This is no shirt for a guy who chases down Hermione's attackers, "Hey! That's my girlfriend, you numpties!"

Even Neville got a design that makes him look tough.

Poor Ron. That's no way to treat a mate.

Travels with Pritty Kitty

Last year UHS implemented IES. For 25 minutes on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, UHS students can sign up for an Intervention (get help from a specific teacher), an Extension (learn something beyond classroom assignments) or a Study Table (quiet time to study or read).

Mr. Kimble teaches art at UHS, and he offered a screen printing extension to art and non-art students. The students created t-shirt designs, and they voted on which design would be screen printed. 

One the non-art students designed the "Pritty Kitty." 

I don't think it was meant to taken seriously. But the sausage body, the stick legs and tail, the fact that pretty is misspelled... it all just works. I think it's hilarious. Mr. Kimble had screened an extra shirt, and he gave it to me to give to Charlotte. She thinks this shirt is awesome. Char wears it all over the place.

Pritty Kitty has been to Wall Drug.

She enjoyed the view from the Devil's Tower.

She was there when Charlotte got her bike.

She watched Aladdin with us at Flix.

Pritty Kitty smelled some poffertjes at the Iowa State Fair.

And she was there when we tried on Halloween masks at Nobbies's Party Store.

Joke or not, Pritty Kitty has spent some quality time with Charlotte this summer. I think she'll enjoy autumn with her, too.

I'm No Angel

But Char took this picture of me while we were on vacation this week.

50 points to Gryffindor* if you can name the city we are in, and 20 more points if you get my shirt.

*I'll explain later.

Story Material: My Iowa Cubs Shirt

The teachers at UHS can wear jeans to school on Fridays if they follow the shirt theme. 

Today I am wearing one of my favorite shirts. I'll tell you why.

Grandma Deb, Charlotte, Daphne, and I went to Principal Park to watch the I-Cubs play in the summer of 2011*.  (Check out Char's Cubbie hat.)

We were sitting in a row of seats by ourselves in the general admission section. During the first inning, a large group of 20-year-olds chose to sit in the same row. They filled every seat, and the guy who sat next to me was roughly the size of a grizzly bear. He apologized, wedged himself into his seat, and then pretended that his left elbow and knee were not touching my body.

The rows in front of us and in back of us were empty, so there wasn't any reason their group couldn't have split up. But no, he just sat there looking away from me as his frame slowly invaded more of my personal space. I shook my head at Daphne and said, "Sorry, but we have to move. I can't watch the game like this."

We picked up our food and all of the baby stuff and moved back four rows. While we were leaving, bear-man smiled at me and stretched his left arm across the backrest of my empty seat.

Again, the rows in front and in back of us were unoccupied. So, you can imagine my frustration when a group of three men then chose to sit in the seats directly in front of us. Ten seats were open on either side of them, and these jokers sit smack dab in front of us. 

To make matters worse, the guy sitting in my line of sight had a melon so big I couldn't see the pitcher or the batter. And he wasn't even wearing a hat. I couldn't believe my luck. We had to move again. This time we slid down to end of the row. 

The inning was over by the time we got reorganized. I don't think I had been seated for more than 30 seconds when I heard the whoomph of the t-shirt cannon. I looked up, and what do you know? A rolled-up shirt landed neatly in my lap. 

I held the shirt above my head in triumph as Grizzyman and Mr. Melon looked at me with envy. I looked from one to the other and hollered, "Thanks!" I don't know if they knew what I meant.

So, that's why this is one of my favorite shirts. It reminds me that you never know when life is going to throw something good your way.

*Because she passed away so early in Char's life, we don't have a lot of pictures of Grandma Deb and Charlotte together. This I-Cubs photo is in heavy rotation in our digital picture frame. I see the picture quite a bit, but due to the rule of thirds, I catch myself looking at the guy in the upper left of the photo. I keep thinking that he is never going to get a bite of that hot dog.

Story Material: Won't Wear That Again

There was a time in the 90's when it was fashionable for civilians to wear an Army PT shirt. The military was giving these shirts away as a promotion, and they were hot property for a few months. I don't remember the exact year, but this was back when it was cool for guys to dye their hair blond.

I spotted one of these shirts at a Salvation Army store last week. It brought back some memories.

At that time, I found an Army PT shirt at the DAV. I didn't feel like a poser when I wore it. I felt like I was supporting our troops and advertising for the military. Isn't that what you're doing when you wear shirt that has an organization's logo on it?

I wore it at the mall (remember those?), and a cute girl stopped me to ask where I got my shirt. I told her, and she sadly replied, "I've checked there a bunch of times, but I didn't find anything."

I was wearing this shirt one Saturday morning while I was hitting the garage sales. As I was walking up a steep driveway in a West Des Moines neighborhood, a little boy exploded out of the garage. He looked to be about four years old, and he sprinted at me with a wild smile full of baby teeth. He jumped at me spread-eagle as a woman shouted, "Chris! No!"

He caught me off guard, but I was able to catch him. "Well, Hi," I said as I struggled to keep from falling over, "That was quite a welcome."

The woman, who I guessed was his mother, jogged over to us. "I'm so sorry." She reached for the boy, "Chris, get off of him." I passed him to her. She explained, "It's your shirt. His dad is stationed overseas, and he hasn't seen him in a year." I smiled and looked around for a rock to crawl under.

She pressed her cheek against the boy's head and whispered, "That's not daddy, hon. That's just a man who is here for our sale." She turned and carried the boy back to the garage. I think he had started to cry.

I followed them to the garage because it would have been even more awkward to run away, which is what I wanted to do.

I was the sale's only customer, and I could feel her watching me as I browsed the card tables. I decided that a minute of shopping was polite enough. She and I made eye contact once more time as I walked out of the garage. She was sitting in a chair. There a boy who really missed his dad in her lap.

I weakly thanked her for her hospitality, and she replied, "You do look like Mike, though."

"I hope he's home real soon."

"We all do." She hugged her son, "Don't we, buddy?"

Without looking back, I climbed into my car and drove home.  I dropped the shirt in the donation bin the next time I was at the DAV. That girl at the mall could have it.

I don't think that I did anything wrong, but I wouldn't wear that shirt again.

Now that I'm a parent, that memory hurts even more.

Two Thumbs-Up for a Hand-Me-Down

Charlotte surprised me on Saturday by wearing a vintage t-shirt.

I drew the "Hot Shot" car design when I was in second grade. Our art teacher helped us make our drawings into iron-on transfers. I think the project used crayons and wax paper. Since I was obsessed with all things with motors and wheels, I was pretty proud of my shirt. Like most of 2nd grade, "Hot Shot" was eventually outgrown and forgotten. 

In 2009 I was helping my mom organize her storage unit, and I was amazed to find "Hot Shot" wedged between two cardboard boxes. How did this shirt survive the tides of time? The white fabric was crunchy stiff and stained a rusty yellow, but I felt that it deserved to be taken home.

Daphne assured me that she could save my old shirt. A two-day long soak in OxiClean removed the stains, and a run through the washing machine made it soft again. Daph then tucked the shirt away somewhere, and once again, I forgot all about it until last weekend.

When we got home from the farmers' market, Charlotte took off her hoodie, and I realized what she was wearing underneath. "Hey! I know that shirt!"

Char ran over to me, gave me a tight hug, and declared, "It's the shirt you made when you were my age!"

"That's right! I did draw that. Do you really like it?"

It is over 40 years later, and that shirt is still making people smile. That is pretty awesome.

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