After having a pretty dull winter regarding snow, March in Chicago has brought some of the white stuff… finally! Amy & I have always enjoyed hiking out in the snow and enjoying nature, and thankfully, Wesley seems to be on board as well.
Here are some shots from our snowy adventures around the neighborhood and up at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Bridge to Spider Island
Along the lagoon at the Botanic Garden
Accessible only by lawn mowers
Japanese Garden
The first Star Wars comic books were published by Marvel from 1977-1986. To help promote his film, George Lucas granted Marvel the Star Wars rights for free. The first 6 issues illustrated "A New Hope," but after that creative new stories were told (most of which have been determined to be "non-canon" today).
Issue #1: Marvel Original vs. Dark Horse Reprint
Dark Horse Comics picked up the Star Wars comics license in 1991 and has owned it ever since. Over the years, they've reprinted some of the older Marvel material, recoloring the material as needed.
Stan Lee vs. Lucasfilm
Probably to avoid trademark issues, these reprints have had their Marvel logos and other branding removed. There's even a case where the internal credits referenced Stan Lee, but now simply talk about Lucasfilm. One exception seems to be the cover of Issue #1, which features an art-based callout box at the bottom that still references "Marvel's epic official adaptation of the monumental 20th Century Fox movie!"
Of course, now the ironic part is that Disney owns both Marvel and Lucasfilm, so they are all part of the same family these days!
I was talking to a friend the other day about the new NBC Olympics logo, as well as the changes to Olympic events, such as wrestling being dropped from the Summer Games program as of 2020. This led to a discussion over "alternative" sporting events, such as those sponsored by Red Bull and, of course, ESPN's X Games franchise.
Original Logo (1995-2003) vs. Current Logo (2004-2013)
The broadcast logo fan in me started to dig into the branding for the X Games and unlike its Olympics counterpart, there haven't been many substantial changes to the X Games logos since the event debuted in 2005.
Original 1995 Extreme Games Logo
Aside from the name change (originally known as the Extreme Games), the biggest occurrence happened in 2004 with the adoption of the current "X" logo that is still used in today's events. 2003 was the final year of the vertically-biased X logo, which definitely has a dated 1990s look about it.
NBC has started their 1 year countdown to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. With it, they've released their broadcaster logo as well.
NBC Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics Logo
Amy & I have hosted a lot of "Clue Nights" over the years, celebrating our affection for the boardgame. But little did we know that we could have been making our events look more like a Senior Prom!
Clue Standee
The folks at Shindigz are now featuring officially-licensed Clue props that you can use at your next event. I'm sure Hasbro's VPs are just salivating at the profits now!
Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.
Roaming the Netherworld (2007)
During the summer of 2007, the Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion was closed for a massive refurbishment. We were camping at Walt Disney World in September of that year, and the Mansion reopened towards the end of our trip. But prior to it coming back online, the construction walls showcased this note from the "Ghost Host." I appreciated how it was written "in theme."
Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.
Tea for Two (2007)
We spotted these tea crates at the entrance to Liberty Square during a September 2007 to Walt Disney World. They sit right below a "Liberty Square" sign in front of a bridge into the land. Obviously, they reference the origins of American independence against the British… or someone at Disney really likes tea!
Back in November, I criticized the very existence of Banana Tootsie Pops. I thought it was only fair to take a look at a limited-edition holiday flavor, Candy Cane Tootsie Pops.
Candy Cane Tootsie Pop
The concept seems easy enough to understand. Candy Cane + Tootsie Roll on a stick. However, there's just something different about these products.
December 25: The Little Drummer Boy
Sequel to: The Little Drummer Boy (TV Special, 1968)
One of the lesser-known Rankin/Bass TV stop-motion animated specials is 1968's The Little Drummer Boy. This special was given a sequel 8 years later as The Little Drummer Boy, Book II. Interestingly, both specials were financed by the American Gas Association, a trade group for the natural gas industry. I've never seen the special, but per Wikipedia, "Aaron and his animal friends team up with Melchior, one of the Three Wise Men, to protect silver bells, made to ring for Christ's arrival, from a band of greedy Roman soldiers."
December 24: Hey Santa Claus
Sequel to: National Lampoon's Vacation (Film, 1983), National Lampoon's European Vacation (Film, 1985)
Here's another example of "Christmas Songs/Shows/Movies that are sequels to Non-Christmas Songs/Shows/Movies." But in this case, this sequel has actually reached iconic "Christmas classic" status. I'm talking about 1989's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, which followed up two non-Christmas films in the franchise.
