A Great New 'Toon

As some of you may know, I am pretty big on a variety of cartoons from the past and present. Now I wouldn't call myself an expert quite yet because there are thousands of cartoons in existence, but it's never too late to start. I even created a fan website about the Rugrats cartoon spin-off that premiered nearly five years ago on Nickelodeon called "All Grown Up." To find it, all you have to search on the web is "Luke" and "All Grown Up" and it should be one of your first results to come up. Within the past month, a new cartoon has been catching my eye on the Cartoon Network. It doesn't happen very often where I become completely enthralled with a show, let alone a cartoon. But for this one, I certainly have. It's called "The Secret Saturdays" and new episodes have been airing at 8:30 PM (EST) every Friday on CN. It's about a family of cryptozoologists on the search for the latest cryptids, which are "creatures whose existence has been suggested but not confirmed by science (Wikipedia definition)." Examples of cryptids include Big Foot, chubacabra, and the Loch Ness Monster. They try to find these cryptids and confirm their existence, only to keep their identities secret to keep them safe from the public that may try to hunt them down. They have to deal with a slew of villains along the way who try to outwit the Saturdays. It's actually a brilliant idea for a cartoon, dealing with a subject that has never been done before. It's a comedy-adventure cartoon so it's certainly not weighed down by too much drama.

The Saturdays are comprised of two parents; the mother being Drew and the father being Doc. They are middle-aged, I would say, and are an interracial couple. How many interracial couples exist in cartoons in the past and present? None that I can think of. So "The Secret Saturdays" is rather ground breaking on that issue. They have an 11-year old boy named Zak who was born with the special ability to control cryptids. He is aiding in controlling most cryptid creatures with the help of the hand of Tsul Kalu, an ancient artifact not only used in controlling cryptid creatures, but also as a weapon against villains. He can't control all cryptids as witnessed in the episode "The King of Kumari Kandam," particularly creatures that are very large. He tried using his powers on a giant sea monster that was used in moving the lost city of Kumari Kandam. Zak is still honing his cryptid-controlling skills which will only improve with time. The Saturdays are part of a bigger group of cryptozoologists known as "Secret Scientists." They are allies to the Saturdays and help keep the existence of several cryptids secret. They also help fight back many of the villains that the Saturdays face from time to time.

Three cryptids also make up the Saturday household. Fiskerton is probably the most dominant cryptid of the Saturday clan, which is no surprise since he's seven feet tall. He's a gorilla-cat complete with glowing red eyes and part of the Fiskerton Phantom race of crypids that existed in England. Although he looks menacing and plays an important part in many of the Saturdays' battles, he actually can be pretty timid when not in the heat of the moment and often plays the part of a brother to Zak. Komodo is a genetically-altered komodo dragon that has chameleon-like abilities and can blend in with surroundings, which is especially useful in battles and secret operations. He is 250 pounds and usually never misses an opportunity for a free meal. He often spars with Fiskerton in a friendly fashion. And finally Zon, a pterodactyl-type creature that was thought to be extinct. The Saturdays discover her while crash-landing in the forests of Manaus, Brazil. Her nest gets destroyed by the Saturdays' air ship and begins attacking the family, even capturing Zak for a short time and nearly biting off Doc's head. But once Zak is able to control her with his cryptid powers, she becomes much tamer and comfortable with the Saturdays. They take her home with them and Zak builds her a new nest just outside of their home. Without these three cryptids, I just don't think the Saturdays would find life nearly as fun as it is now.

Unfortunately, there are people in the Saturdays' universe that are out to use the existence of cryptids for their own selfish reasons. V.V. Argost is the main villain in "The Secret Saturdays" and host of his own program, "Weirdworld." Argost is looking for all the secrets he can dig up in uncovering the most powerful cryptid of all, Kur. It is believed that this cryptid is capable of holding a source of unlimited power and everlasting life for whomever is able to capture it. If he ends up finding Kur and unlocking its power, he will likely control cryptid creatures all over earth and use them to take over the world. So it's no surprise that the Saturdays are trying to keep pace with Argost and to keep any secret about Kur away from him if they can. So far, they haven't been so lucky as he's managed to escape with just about every artifact the Saturdays have had their hands on. Fortunate for them, Argost isn't that close to finding Kur quite yet. And with the help of villain-turned-ally Doyle, who ends up being a long-lost brother to Drew, they are in even better hands as he knows many of Argost's secrets. There are still some questions about Doyle, whether or not he is truly an ally of the Saturdays or if he still holds some alliance with Argost as a spy. I guess we will find that out in future episodes. Argost is also aided with help by Munya, a giant Frankenstein-type creature who serves as Argost's manservent. He himself is half-cryptid, as he's been injected with the DNA of a Papuan Giant Spider. This allows him to turn into a giant beastly-creature, which only helps Argost during battles. And then there's Van Rook, a cryptozoologist-turned-bad. He's only out to discover cryptids for money and often helps Argost find a variety of cryptic artifacts. Doyle was once an apprentice to Van Rook.

The Saturdays cross the globe in their super-fast air ship, trying to stay atop of Argost and to keep the identity of cryptids safe. They've been to Brazil trying to uncover the last piece of the Kur stone which they secretly burried 11 years ago, only to have Argost and Munya take off with it in the end. They travel to Japan to take on a giant Hibagon creature, who ends up being the good guy in this situation and the bad guy gets put behind bars. The Saturdays have traversed near the boundaries of the North Pole to take control of a clan of Amaroks riled up after Van Rook and Doyle attempt to steal several ancient artifacts from mounds in which the Amaroks were buried. Zak, Zon, Fisk, and Komodo fight off an attack from a criminally-insane chef at their home - who was looking to feast on rare, exotic species; namely Fiskerton. This while Zak's parents were enjoying their anniversary and their babysitter was out trying to track down a new UFO sighting. They fly over to the other side of the world and take control of a situation created by Argost within the lost city of Kumari Kandam. Argost takes off with the king's Sumarian medallion, which ends up being another clue in finding Kur. But the Saturdays wind up creating peace in the lost city once again after Argost escapes. The also travel to Alkali Lake in an attempt to break off the lake monster's horn, which is another clue to finding Kur. However in the end, Van Rook and Munya take off with the horn. But this is where Doyle becomes a new member of the Saturday family. All this in just the first seven episodes of the series! Who knows exactly when and where the Saturdays will wind up next.

So this is my recommendation for everyone interested in cartoons, whether you're still a kid or a kid at heart. This is probably one of the best cartoons to come along in awhile and you won't be disappointed. It provides a lot of action, drama, and yes, quite a bit of comedy, too. It deals with a subject that I wasn't all that familiar with up until watching the show. Sure, I've heard of Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster, but I didn't realize they were referred to as cryptids. This show has opened my eyes up to the possibilities that these creatures do indeed exist. It's ground breaking on many levels and I have no reason but to believe that this show will be around for a long while to come.

Economic Crisis Hits Home

And just like that, the steel industry is hurting, all because of the worldwide encomic crisis. It's not only affecting us here in the United States but all across the world. China, which was undergoing it's own industial revolution, has cut back on how much steel it buys. People aren't buying cars as often, which is slowing down the need for steel to produce vehicles. Need I tell you how bad the three major automakers in the United States are doing? I am sure you have been hearing all about that in the news as of late. GM is on the verge of bankruptcy - once one of America's finest corporations. My great uncle who worked for GM in a management position is losing his medical benefits at the end of the year in a cost cutting move. Benefits he was promised to have during his lifetime at the time of his retirement are now yanked away. But we are in extraordinary times - never in America have we seen anything like this. It's affecting millions of Americans and now it's even affecting the steel industry pretty hard.

The last time I brought up the steel industry a few months back, times were good in the steel industry. In fact, a new contract was negotiated for our unions here in Michigan and in Minnesota. Not only for our mines, but new contracts were ratified for other mines and steel mills across the country this year - well before the economic crisis hit. Times were good; we were producing a maximum amount of product - even increasing production where we could. There were plans in the works at my respective plant to reconvert a lot of old equipment into modern equipment. Well, a lot of those plans have been halted for the forseeable future. And what's worse, as many as 350 people may end up being laid off at the start of the year. Many of these people are honest, hard workers who need good paying jobs like the mine offers. A lot have been recently hired within the last year or two and now could be without a job for the time being. I really feel bad for those employees who have recently been hired and left jobs, only to find themselves possibly laid off to start next year. It's amazing how quickly things can turn around.

As of now, I am not on the layoff list. I have worked long enough there and have enough seniority to the point that my job is safe. Also the position I hold at the mine is a lot safer than a lot of others there, so that doesn't hurt, either. But if things get to dire straits, I could be bumped out of my job by people who hold more seniority than me and I, too, could wind up being laid off. You see, production has been scaled way back to the point where all of these employees are no longer needed. At the start of next year, we're only expected to be running once section of the plant compared to the four we currently run. 2009 is one big question mark as far as the mine where I work is concerned. If things get bad enough, the whole place could be idled for an unlimited amount of time. That is the scary thing about this whole situation; how long is it going to last and will things ever be the same again?

I really feel bad for those individuals who are being laid off. There are a lot of good people out there who are getting a raw deal. A lot of people depend on a job like this and to not have it to start 2009 would be a major blow for them. Sure, there's unemployment but that eventually runs out. You just have to hope that the steel industry makes a big turn around and the world economy makes an up-turn. If not, we may be in for a long downward trend in the steel industry, that up until a month or two ago, things couldn't have been better. Like I said, how quickly things change.

Classic TV Advertisements

I was up kind of late last night and one of the last things I was planning to do was to check my facebook profile. While I was there, I figured I'd leave a snappy status update on what I was doing right at that moment. Seeing I was tired and headed off to bed, I came up with "taking Nytol to get some Z's." That randomly came out of nowhere but it was certainly appropriate, even though I never did take any Nytol and had no intentions to. But then I got to thinking of this classic 1980's sleeping-aide product and the catchy jingle that accompanied it. So where's the best place to look up old videos of commericals, TV shows, and a variety of other things? None other than YouTube. Sure enough, that old Nytol ad is on there:



Watching that again and listening to the jingle honestly made me chuckle out loud. I guess one of the images that has been imprinted in my mind was the Nytol pills turning a complete 90 degrees to where two Z's are displayed on the pills as opposed to the N's. You know something, that ended up being a great marketing ploy for Nytol. And just think, all these years later, we're still remembering those ads.

It didn't end there either. Even after I got my fill of that old Nytol commerical, I browsed the other related videos on YouTube and caught a glimpse of other classic 1980's commericals. Here is one for the Whatchamacallit candy bar made by Hershey's:



I don't know if it brought back memories for you, but it sure did for me. I remember it being played countless number of times on Nickelodeon or during commerical breaks on Saturday mornings. It certainly is one of those commercials that became a classic and really helped to elevate this particular candy bar. Whatchamacallit wasn't the only candy bar to have a catchy jingle during this particular era. Check out this one for Reese's Pieces Candy:



That one probably isn't as memorable as the previous video but it still is a fun ad to watch. Especially when you look at all of the "pieces" that exist in our world, you can tell they really did their research in creating that ad. And Resse's Pieces remains one of my favorite candies today, especially when you put them in a Dairy Queen Blizzard. It's great to see Reese's Pieces still in existence today, even though you don't see advertisements like these promoting candy anymore. And last but not least, here's one more blast from the past:



Anyone remember these? I sure do. Back in the day, Lifesavers made these tiny bite sized candies and filled them in these handy-dandy little containers that you could safely enclose without the candies turning stale. Supposedly they were made from the small holes that were created in the regular Lifesaver candies. I wonder why they discontinued this product because the small "dots" were fun to eat. Maybe they were only meant to be sold for a limited time or they weren't getting as much sales like they were for the regular Lifesavers. Either way, it's still a product from that past that brings back a lot of memories.

Hope you enjoyed this blast from the past as much as I did. It's pretty amazing the things you find on YouTube that really helps bring back great memories.

Election Day

In less than 24 hours, polls across America will be open and we will be deciding who will become the next president of our country, among many other races and proposals. I intend to vote tomorrow and I know millions of other people will, too. It's our right as Americans to vote - there's no reason for us not to. Electing our president is such a huge issue for not just everyone here in the United States, but for the world, too. We're the most powerful and one of the most richest nations and much of the world follows the news, especially politics, that goes on here. Many in the world want to know who our next president is going to be because their respective country and their leaders are going to have to deal with our president and government in one way or another. A lot of time our president helps shape what goes on in the world. So it's easy to understand why the world watches when it's our time to vote. And America is going to be doing a lot of voting in the next 36 hours.

The candidates to become president are Republican U.S. Senator from Arizona John McCain and Democratic U.S. Senator from Illinois Barack Obama. There are other minor party candidates vying for the presidency but I haven't heard a thing about them. I believe Ralph Nader is running again but I know he's not going to have much of an effect on this election this time around. Barack Obama is all about change. He's looking to move the country in another direction after eight years of Bush's presidency. He wants an end to the Iraq war sooner rather than later. He's looking to raise taxes on individuals/families that earn more than $250,000 a year. Meanwhile, John McCain is looking to separate himself from George W. Bush and make a few changes to the direction of our country. He's looking to stay the course in Iraq and finish the job without pulling our troops out too soon. He promises not raising taxes while accusing Obama that he will. In my opinion, where John McCain has gone wrong in his candidacy for president was picking Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. All she has done is embarass the McCain camp more than anything with her demeanor and comments. I think her lack of experience in U.S. politics is her downfall - she wasn't used to dealing with the major networks like CBS and NBC up until becoming the pick for Vice President. Meanwhile, Obama made a wise decision picking U.S. Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate. He is currently of the longest serving senators and has a respected reputation among his collaegues and constituents. Have you heard as much press about Biden like you have with Palin? Not in the least. Maybe that was exactly McCain's plan when picking Palin to be his Vice President - someone who would create a lot of buzz and get the people in this country talking. Unfortunately, I don't believe it has worked out as well as he hoped.

Here in Michigan, there are two very important ballot proposals that will be voted on tomorrow. Proposal one would allow the use of medical marijuana to the most suffering patients. There are as many as a dozen other states who already allow the practice. I am kind of on the fence about this one. I'd like to believe that those who are suffering from grave medical conditions would get to have marijuana to relieve the pain. But I feel it would end up falling into the wrong hands more than anything and this privilege would quickly become abused. I do understand the need for patients suffering the most, but I just don't think that's enough to get me to vote yes on this one. Proposal two would create an amendment to the state constitution to permit stem cell research with certain limitations. The basic jist of this proposal would allow human embryos to be donated by choice for those needing fertility treatment to be used for research purposes in finding cures for a variety of diseases that plague our nation. These are embryos that would otherwise be discarded as human waste if not used for research. There are a lot of uncertainties about this proposal - whether or not the embryos could wind up in the wrong hands and clones being developed, etc. Needless to say, there would be a lot of scrutiny and procedures that would need to be implemented in order for this process to work as it could. I haven't heard that guarentee and that makes me skeptical about this proposal. I am all about finding cures for diabetes, cancer, and other potentially fatal diseases that hurt millions of people on our country. But I am confident we can find other means of finding cures than with the use of human embryos.

In other political races affecting Michigan, I see Democratic U.S. Senator Carl Levin winning easily over Republican candidate Jack Hoogendyk. Levin will likely be elected to his 6th term to the U.S. Senate. In the race for the U.S. House of Representatives 1st Congressional District in Michigan, I predict another win for Democratic incumbent Bart Stupak over Republican challenger Tom Casperson. I think this race will be a lot closer for Stupak than it has been in recent years against other candidates because Casperson is well-respected here in the U.P. and did a good job as a representative for Michigan's Congressional House. However, Stupak has a solid reputation with his constituents and I don't see him losing this battle. In the race for Michigan House of Representative 109th District, Democratic incumbent Steve Lindberg should win easily over Republic challenger Doreen Takalo. I don't think Takalo has done enough to get her name out in public and that will cost her this race.

There are a ton of other local, state, and national races and ballot proposals affecting our nation. If you're unsure what is going on in your area, get educated quickly. Search on-line for races and proposals affecting your local area or check your local newspaper, either in print or on-line. Try finding information on your state government website. I know the state of Michigan has a lot of helpful information on polling guides and whatnot. If you're still unsure about what is going on, be sure to watch your local TV station's news. I am sure they will be covering many local issues involving the elections of '08. And of course, be sure to get out and vote! No matter what you've heard before, your vote really does count.