In the not too distant future!

I’ve come to a conclusion.  The second favorite decade of my life was 1988 to 1998… or thereabouts- the run of Mystery Science Theater 3000.  I say the second, because I think that the next one, and probably the one after that will be the best.   

If you’ve never watched MST3K, all I can say is- I’m very sorry for you.  It was a brilliant show that encapsulated much of what my life was, and is- using my vast knowledge of movies, television, books and music to run a continual reference filled commentary on a life that is usually passing me by.  And it had robots.   I’ve been a nerd my entire life- science fiction movies, television and books have been my best and longest friends.  I often blame the fact that my parents watched Planet of the Apes and 2001:  A Space Odyssey right before I was born on my geek tendencies.

I discovered MST3k in about 1989 or 90, when I was at CU Boulder.  They were in their first couple of seasons at Comedy Central.  We discovered them by accident, coming home from the club late and not wanting to go to sleep.  CC used to repeat the 8.00 pm, or whatever, showing at midnight back then.  We soon had a new Friday ritual.  We'd have loads of people over, drink beer, make piles of popcorn and watch the brilliance.  

The show also presented several college tours in the mid-90s, called Free/Fresh Cheese Tours.  They were free showings of new episodes, and included shirt giveaways and raffles for other prizes.  I was lucky to see two of the shows- Outlaw- one of my favorite episodes- and Zombie Nightmare.  Watching an MST3K episode with 120 other rabid fans is the best!  And I scored a raffle giveaway of one of the advertising banners- which I still have.

I've also been lucky to meet members of the MST3K cast on three occasions.  In 1992 some of the cast- Joel Hodgson, Jim Mallon, Trace Beaulieu and Kevin Murphy came to Denver to appear at Star Con!  I was there!  We got to meet them, and get autographs.  During the Q&A someone asked if they would mention Denver in the show.  They did!  During one of the host segments of Crash of Moons- Episode 417- they talked about sending Bannergrams  (named for one of the movies stars- John 'Sgt. Shultz' Banner) to people… in Denver!  They mentioned us three times.  It was awesome.  

They must have had a great time doing the Con, because the show then threw themselves two conventions in Minneapolis- ConventionCon ExpoFest-A-Rama in 1994, and - ConventionCon ExpoFest-A-Rama 2: Electric Bugaloo in 1996.  Yup… still have the badges from those!  They conventions were an amazing weekend of panels, guest stars, signature sessions, episode viewings, looking at props from the show, Best Brains studio tours, and a costume contest and ball.  For the first convention, I went for a deep cut and dressed as a Renaissance Fair leather cup maker, one of the punching bags that the Mads presented as their experiment in The Giant Gila Monster.  Of course I am Tolkien reading freak. In 1996, we went as skydivers, and I think we may have scared Mike Nelson.   

Best Brains- the company that the cast created to produce the show created a video called the MST3K Scrapbook, with bloopers, behind the scenes and other extras that included scenes from the 1994 ConventionCon.  I'm in it twice!  Ok, you hear my voice at the beginning of the segment saying 'We're here!  And it's wonderful… that's all there is to it!  We're never leaving!'  A few minutes later, you can see the back of my head.  

Perhaps the ultimate highlight of my MST3K experience, though, has to be that I saw the live version of This Island Earth!  They performed it at the ConventionCon in 1994.  Eventually it became MST3K: The Movie, which I saw on opening weekend at the Tivoli.  I think there were 32 of us there.  I have to admit- I would have gone with Bootsy Collins instead of Leona Helmsley, myself.  I watched MST3K right up to the end, throwing a huge finale party in 1999.  It was an incredible run. 

But my involvement of all things MST3K didn't end when the show did.  When the SciFi Channel took over the show in 1996, they began an online gamed called 'Caption This!'  The game was interactive and allowed a community of 'cappers' to crack wise at screen grabs of what was showing on SciFi at the moment.  A core group of Cappers went to New Orleans to take part in a Capping panel at the American Pop Culture Association conference in April, 2000.  I think there were 16 of us and we had a great time- exploring New Orleans and talking MST3K.  

But then, I hit a low point and I stopped watching MST3K.   See, I shared all the original MST3K experiences with my then wife.  When we broke up, I just didn't want to be reminded.  I'd watch an episode here or there, and I was still in contact with many of my capper friends, but for the most part, it was just too hard.   It was another decade before I watched again.  Funnily enough, it was another break up that did it.  I can't even tell you why, but I'd forgotten how good MST3K made me feel, and since the initial 'wounds' were long forgotten I was able to enjoy it again.  

I pulled out all the MST3K stuff I'd packed away- the videos, the DVDs, the Con badges, the episode guides- both published and hand-made- all my fan club stuff, the posters, the Free Cheese banner, and the Servo heads and other bot parts I'd found.  I even put my Fan club card (60346) back into my wallet.   MST3K was back!  

And it continues!  I can often be seen in my red  Gizmonics jumpsuit, and sport Gizmonic colors on the bag I carry daily.  I also look forward to the newest Shout Factory! DVD packages.  Most recently, I was finally able to complete my replicas of Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot- after collecting parts for years and years.   
 
All in all, I'd have to say that MST3K is in a close tie with Star Wars to being my all-time favorite thing.  Now, if I could only get the kids into it…

TIKI!!!

I've been wanting to build a Tiki Bar for ages!  I've been a  huge fan of surf music, surfing and all things island for as long as I can remember.  I have been ever since I found my parents copy of Surfin' With the Astronauts when I was 12.  They bought it when they saw the band play at Tulagis in Boulder in about 1966.  Yes, a surf band played in Boulder.  The Astronauts were from Boulder.  Anyway, I loved that album then, and I love it now.  That, of course, led to me to more and more surf music- I devoured the stuff.  I used to debate the merits of pure instrumental guitar driven surf like Dick Dale, The Centurions, The Surfaries and the Trashmen and the more pop vocal sounds of bands like The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean.  I was always arguing that real surf music was the driven by the springy reverb of a lead guitar melody- just like surfing itself…  like I, as a 15 year old in Lakewood Colorado, knew anything about surfing.  
 

I was lucky that as a teenager in the 80s the incredible subculture of skating exploded.  We had quite a few skate shops in my area, and they always sold loads of surf related stuff.  I loved skating as well, but I was never all that good.  I never learned to olllie and was at best a novice half pipe skater.  I loved cruising around though!  Today I restrict myself to riding a longboard.  Anyway, thanks to all the shops around, I had a huge collection of Billibong, Quicksilver, T&C, Pacific Island Creations and Vans.  We lived in t-shirts, board shorts and slip-ons.  I also had a little cred, because I lived in Southern California for a time.  Ok, I was 5 and 6 and we lived in Claremont, which is about 30 miles from the beach.  Still...   We did have the opportunity to go back to visit several times and the first place I wanted to go was always the ocean.  The ultimate surf experience in my high school years is when I got my first surfboard.  Ok.. I made it… ok, I made it from a big piece of packing foam and had no idea how to actually glass it, so I think I used polyurethane left over from refinishing some hardwood floors.  I made it as a movie prop, for a surf film I made in class.  Yes, a surf film made right here in Colorado.  The pond was disgusting!   I kept that board through college but finally had to throw the much repaired pieces away.  

I finally got to go surfing the first time when I was in the Navy.  I was in the reserves, so I never had much time, but I was lucky enough to be stationed in Long Beach and San Diego, and for some reason my rate- Signalman- always attracted at least a few surfers to the signal shack, so I always had guys who were willing to take me out, including a guy called Brad, who lent me a board, gave me lessons and was always glad to see me come to the ship and take me out.  Every time I was in California I planned on getting a real board.  I could never come up with the money to do so, though.  That dream finally came true when my brother came back from living in Hawaii.  He lived there for a couple of years and had advanced from just riding a longboard down the face of a smooth 3 foot wave- about as far as I ever got- to shredding on a Jeff Ho 5'8" thruster.  When he returned, he gave me that board.  A Jeff Ho!  I know you've seen Dogtown and Z-Boys!  You'll remember Jeff Ho as the main shaper from Zephyr surfshop.  This was one of his 80s boards, shaped while he was in Hawaii.  Even though I never once rode that board, it was my pride and joy.

My love for all things surf has never gone away.  I've softened my view on the instrumental v pop vocal music debate.  In fact I'd go as far as say that Good Vibrations and All Summer Long by the Beach Boys are among my top 100 favorite songs.  I've kept up with the new wave (ha!) of surf bands that still come along and they are just as exciting as the old.  The Aqua Velvets, The Bomboras, Satan's Pilgrims, and Los Straightjackets are a great place to start.  There is even a nice connection between my love of MST3K and surf music.  When Joel returns to the Satellite of Love, he tells Mike and the Bots he's been working as a roadie for Man or Astro-Man? And they did a version of the Love Theme!   There are even a few local surf bands you should check out, like the Beloved Invaders and the Royal Aces.   

Anyway, I finally turned the storage shed on the back of my house into a Tiki bar- PA~AG'S Tiki Shack.  I'm hugely lucky to have an incredible girlfrind that knows more about Tiki than anyone I know, and was on board for this conversion.  Thanks, my love!  
Here is the pictorial process of the conversion.

Here is said shed... potential Tiki Bar!

Crap and muck!

Removing the groovy 70s paneling.  It reminded me of my childhood bedroom.

Wonderful spliced wiring!  Yeah.. that's safe.

Juan helping with the wiring.  We had to move the wiring to accommodate the door, and to make it safer.  I've never been terribly comfortable with wiring, but this project really made me feel better about my abilities.

New and improved wiring!

The biggest moment of the project- cutting the door.

Success!  Door cut, and hung.  It works!

Installing the bar.  I used a table top that I found in the trash.  I cut it in half, cut the sides to make it fit and then used two sanding pads to get it right.

The door needed to be trimmed so it could close over the bar.

The interior of the bar with the door closed.

The interior support for the bar and the paneling back in place.

Another dumpster find, an old entertainment center, simply mounted on the wall.

A door that was in the shed (one of the interior kitchen doors that wasn't needed) serves as work station in the bar.  The door just rests on some 2/4s so it can easily be removed and used as a door again someday.

The open door and shelves are ready for finish work.  Speakers for the sound system are mounted!

More dumpster diving provided a bunch of bamboo that I used to face the shelves.

The finished Tiki Shack!  I have to admit, I'm damn proud of the sign I made.

View of the bar shelves.  Most of the Tiki stuff is Alisha's.

A close up of the shelves.

PA~AG's Tiki Shack's premier event!  A combined birthday party for Alisha and me!

 Postscript:

 We had such a brilliant party for the premier of the Tiki Shack!  There were loads of people there and the light of 80 candles is a sight to behold.  Just an amazing night all around.  Then... then...  About a week after the party I finally got around to moving the booze back into the house.  I went in and found that someone- probably neighborhood kids- had broken into my Tiki Shack and stolen all the booze (ok, 3 bottles of rum and a cooler full of beer), my vintage shot pump and my surfboard! The cops came by, but there's not much that can be done. The only thing that I'm really annoyed about is the board. I'm checking craigslist and ebay to see if it comes up for sale- and if you want to be on the lookout for it- I've included a close up below. Again, it's a Jeff Ho- Hawaii board (5'8"" thruster with about 3 inch rails with an adjustable center fin. I'm not sure I'll ever see it again, and I now finally fully understand this...

 

Help find me!

One day project

I recently found myself with a day to waste and decided to try and do a one day prop build.  I did it pretty much with supplies on hand, and it's something I've been wanting to do for a while.  In fact, I bought the T-Ball bat that was the base of the prop a bit ago with plans on doing this- all in all, I think it was a success.  I give you a one day build- Quidditch Beater's Bat.