Monday Matinee

WEBBY: Don't know what it's like in your neck of the woods, but in these parts, the spiders seem to be readying to stage a World Takeover. Seriously, there are So. Many. Spiders. With so many webs, and so many egg sacs they've spun. At this point I think it's time to prepare to bow down to our Spider Overlords.

BIG WHEEL KEEP ON TURNIN': This weekend on one of my too-many runs to the hardware store, I spied what looked to be a Big Wheel by the side of the road with a "FREE" sign on it.

Screech went the brakes on the CR-V. I hastily stopped and threw it into the car. Score!

Upon closer examination, it's not a genuine Big Wheel, but it is a close enough approximation (by Radio Flyer) to give the kids a Big Wheel experience. CJ has asked a few times over the years about Big Wheels. We've never owned one and I don't know that he's ever even seen one. 

It's a little too small for CJ to really get going on, but Annabelle tore up and down the alley this weekend. 

They sure are fun little vehicles. I read today that they were introduced by Louis Marx and Company in 1968. I remember when all of the sudden in the early '70s it seemed like every kid in the neighborhood had one. 

The original Big Wheel manufacturers went bankrupt, and the name was sold to . They, too, went bankrupt. Today, a company called Kids Only Toys has the rights to the righteous ride. 

MONSTER STORY: This afternoon we read a library book, Frankie Stein, with a bold, colorful cover. How could I *not* pick this up??

It's written by Steven T. Seagle, creator of a couple of cartoons the kids have watched (Ben 10 and Generator Rex), and it's illustrated by an artist who has worked on SpongeBob, Marco Cinello.

It's an interesting story about a young boy who lives in a castle and he looks every bit the monster. However, his father has taught him that "Boys live in castles and monsters live in the cities." Frankie's father has also instructed him not to go to the city. However, Frankie decided it's time to find out more about these monsters, and he strikes out for the town - on Halloween. That's an eye-opening encounter for all involved. 

FISHY TALE: This afternoon we finally took the kids to see "Finding Nemo" in 3D. It's such a visually appealing movie - gorgeous, colorful animation of the undersea world. I really appreciate the fact that the title character has a disability (one undersized fin), but it's not portrayed as a huge shortcoming, or overly fixated on. It's just a part of him and it's one of the many things that makes him unique. Good life lesson there. The 3-D effects were just OK, but for me by far the best part of the movie was Ellen DeGeneres as a yellowtaill tang. That woman makes one funny fish.

There were just 6 of us in the theater, with our family making up two-thirds of that total. Slow day at the AMC Loews Oak Tree.  

THEY SAY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY: It was 1958 when President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, providing for research into the problems of flight within Earth’s atmosphere and in space. With the act was the creation of a new civilian agency designated the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The agency began operations on this day in 1958.

When NASA opened, it operated with five facilities inherited from the National Aeronautics and Space Council. They were the Lewis Research Center in Ohio, Langley Research Center and the Wallops rocket test range in Virginia, and Ames Research Center and the Muroc aircraft test range in California. Also on Oct. 1, Eisenhower issued an executive order transferring space projects and appropriations from other space programs to NASA. This order gave NASA a staff of 8,240 (8,000 from the NACA) and a budget of approximately $340 million.

Today's also the birthday of the Model-T. It was Oct. 1, 1908 when the first production Model T rolled off the line at Ford's Piquette Avenue plant in Detroit. Over the next 19 years, some 15 million "Tin Lizzies" were built. According to History.com, the Model-T had the longest production run of any car until 1972, when the perpetually popular Volkswagen Beetle beat it. 

On YouTube, we watched some vintage video of the Model T being produced. 


And I should also mention that Cartoon Network turned 20 today. They had special programming all day. You just know the kids tuned in for The Annoying Orange's new episode, "Planet of the Grapes of Wrath." Highbrow comedy, that show is.