Morty the Dog

Favorite Movie Quotes: The Bonfire of the Vanities

2012-02-17T05:23:00.001-08:00

"I was at dinner last evening, and halfway through the pudding, this four-year-old child came alone, dragging a little toy cart. And on the cart was a fresh turd. Her own, I suppose. The parents just shook their heads and smiled. I've made a big investment in you, Peter. Time and money, and it's not working. Now, I could just shake my head and smile. But in my house, when a turd appears, we throw it out. We dispose of it. We flush it away. We don't put it on the table and call it caviar."

Phone photo 1189

2012-02-17T05:16:00.000-08:00

Morty Comix # 2306

2012-02-17T05:11:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2306 joined the literature at a post office in the Oly-Lacey-Tumwater area.

Phone photo 1188

2012-02-17T05:07:00.000-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: The Blues Brothers

2012-02-16T05:28:00.000-08:00

"Honest! I ran out of gas. I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car! There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! It wasn't my fault, I swear to God!"

[Link]

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2012-02-16T05:14:00.001-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: Blue Ice

2012-02-15T20:58:00.000-08:00

"Ronny is a steady customer and you don't hit a steady customer in the face. They don't come back until the bruises are gone."

[Reviewed in Cheaper by the Dozen 61]

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2012-02-15T20:27:00.001-08:00

Aberdeen, Washington

Morty Comix # 2305

2012-02-15T20:20:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2305 was slid under an obscure storage box at an Olympia, Washington pizza joint.

Phone photo 1185

2012-02-15T05:26:00.001-08:00

Aberdeen, Washington

Favorite Movie Quotes: Blood and Sand

2012-02-15T05:24:00.001-08:00

"The bull is not the beast! Look at the crowd! That is the real beast!"

Phone photo 1184

2012-02-15T05:16:00.000-08:00

Chehalis River
Cosmopolis, Washington

Morty Comix # 2304

2012-02-15T05:12:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2304 was slid behind a wooden shake near the entrance of a long deceased tavern in Elma, Washington

Phone photo 1183

2012-02-15T05:10:00.001-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: Blazing Saddles

2012-02-14T04:52:00.000-08:00

"What did you expect? Welcome Sonny? Make yourself at home? Marry my daughter? You gotta remember these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the New West. You know-- morons."

[Reviewed in Cheaper by the Dozen 57]

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2012-02-14T04:50:00.001-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: Blaze

2012-02-13T06:12:00.000-08:00

Stripper Blaze Starr to Gov. Earl Long: "You know Earl, in a certain way, we're both kinda show business."

[Reviewed in Cheaper by the Dozen 58]

Phone photo 1181

2012-02-13T05:11:00.001-08:00

I live on the top of a "T" in the road, and the snowplow usually leaves a big pile of snow in front of my house, so I'll have the white stuff around long after the rest of the neighborhood is snow free.

Favorite Movie Quotes: Blade Runner

2012-02-13T05:07:00.000-08:00

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die."

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2012-02-12T10:32:00.001-08:00

Winter storm victim
Tumwater, Washington

Favorite Movie Quotes: Black Sheep

2012-02-12T10:14:00.001-08:00

"Are you or are you not the Black Angel of Death?"

Quite possibly one the ten worst films I've ever seen

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2012-02-12T09:49:00.001-08:00

4th Ave. Bridge looking west
Early morning
Olympia, Washington

Morty Comix # 2303

2012-02-12T09:46:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2303 was quietly slipped into the menu flaps of a restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Laurelhurst neighborhood

Phone photo 1178

2012-02-12T06:57:00.001-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: The Bishop's Wife

2012-02-12T06:51:00.001-08:00

"This card index file is in an awful mess. Think I'll reorganize it."

[Reviewed in Cheaper by the Dozen 55]

Phone photo 1177

2012-02-12T06:46:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2302

2012-02-11T19:45:00.000-08:00

Morty Comix # 2302 was left in a back hallway (which seemed to have served as a partial storage area) of a popular Portland, Oregon chocolate store that led to a public restroom (and it was much needed by the author of this very text you are reading).

Phone photo 1176

2012-02-11T19:26:00.001-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: The Birds

2012-02-11T19:17:00.000-08:00

"Birds are not aggressive creatures, Miss. They bring beauty into the world."

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2012-02-11T16:36:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2301

2012-02-11T16:32:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2301 tacked up on a community bulletin board at Whole Foods, Laurelhurst neighborhood, Portland, Oregon

Favorite Movie Quotes: The Birdcage

2012-02-11T16:29:00.000-08:00

"Actually, it's perfect. I just never realized John Wayne walked like that."

[Reviewed in Cheaper by the Dozen 1]

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2012-02-11T14:06:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2300

2012-02-11T14:04:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2300 found a home on the McCleary Post Office bulletin board.

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2012-02-10T09:09:00.001-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: The Big Sleep

2012-02-10T09:07:00.000-08:00

My, my, my. Such a lot of guns around town and so few brains. You know, you're the second guy I've met today that seems to think a gat in the hand means the world by the tail.

Phone photo 1172

2012-02-10T09:02:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2299

2012-02-10T08:58:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2299 placed under a sign apologizing for a certain brand of cat food being discontinued, Olympia, Washington.

Phone photo 1171

2012-02-10T08:30:00.000-08:00

The boys chow down

Favorite Movie Quotes: The Big Lewboski

2012-02-10T06:01:00.000-08:00

"Yeah, well. The Dude abides."

[Reviewed in Cheaper by the Dozen 54]

Morty Comix # 2298

2012-02-10T05:52:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2298 was posted on a community bulletin board in Tumwater, Washington

Phone photo 1170

2012-02-10T05:49:00.001-08:00

Why does Thurston County use sperm symbols on the Official Ballot Drop Box?

Favorite Movie Quotes: Best in Show

2012-02-09T05:01:00.000-08:00

"Doctor, question that's always bothered me and a lot of people: Mayflower, combined with Philadelphia, a no-brainer, right? Cause this is where the Mayflower landed. Not so. It turns out Columbus actually set foot somewhere down in the West Indies. Little known fact."

[Reviewed in Cheaper by the Dozen 30]

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2012-02-09T04:50:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2297

2012-02-09T04:47:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2297 was left in the free publications area of an Olympia, Washington bookstore

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2012-02-09T04:45:00.000-08:00

Favorite Film Quotes: A Beautful Mind

2012-02-08T21:25:00.000-08:00

"Classes will dull your mind, destroy the potential for authentic creativity."

Phone photo 1167

2012-02-08T19:50:00.001-08:00

In the Columbo episode "Strange Bedfellow s" (1995) I caught this creative spelling of the word "Bizarre." Then I decided to capture it for all to see.

Interesting the villain in this story has the surname McVeigh, and between the time this was filmed and then aired homegrown right-wing terrorist Timothy McVeigh murdered 168 people (including children) and injured many more in Oklahoma City via some militia-inspired concocted explosive.

Perhaps the writer had a premonition on the psychopathic connection of this name when the show was produced in 1995.

The writer, "Lawrence Vail," has a short list of writing credits in the IMDB. Can anyone shed some light on this guy?

Morty Comix # 2296

2012-02-08T18:39:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2296 was left at a small dining table at a Tumwater, Washington gas station/mini-mart this morning.

Phone photo 1166

2012-02-08T06:16:00.002-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: Beat the Devil

2012-02-08T06:10:00.003-08:00

"Time. Time. What is time? Swiss manufacture it. French hoard it. Italians squander it. Americans say it is money. Hindus say it does not exist. Do you know what I say? I say time is a crook"

[Reviewed in Cheaper by the Dozen 47]

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2012-02-08T05:12:00.002-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: Battle of Britain

2012-02-08T05:10:00.001-08:00

"If you think we're going to gamble on Herr Hitler's guarantees, you're making a grave mistake. All those years in England seems to have left you none the wiser. We're not easily frightened. Also we know how hard it is for an army to cross the Channel. The last little Corporal who tried came a cropper. So don't threaten or dictate to us until you're marching up Whitehall, and even then we won't listen."

Phone photo 1164

2012-02-08T05:01:00.002-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: Batman Returns

2012-02-08T04:59:00.002-08:00

Catwoman: "You poor guys! Always confusing your pistols with your privates."

[Reviewed in Cheaper by the Dozen 40]

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2012-02-07T18:02:00.001-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: Batman Forever

2012-02-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

Batman: "We all wear masks"

Phone photo 1162

2012-02-07T17:47:00.001-08:00

Goodbye Clinton, you were way too young

Morty Comix # 2295

2012-02-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

Morty Comix # 2295 crawled under the placemat of an Asian cuisine restaurant in
Tumwater, Washington

Phone photo 1162

2012-02-07T06:17:00.001-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: Batman

2012-02-07T06:09:00.000-08:00

The Joker: "Batman. Batman. Can somebody tell me what kind of a world we live in, where a man dressed up as a bat gets all of my press? This town needs an enema!"

[Reviewed in Cheaper by the Dozen 38]

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2012-02-07T05:03:00.000-08:00

Monument to the Three Kichis
Fort Vancouver, Washington

The first recorded Japanese visitors to what is now Washington State were three castaways who ran aground in 1834 after having been adrift in the Pacific for over a year.

Favorite Movie Quotes: Barton Fink

2012-02-07T04:57:00.001-08:00

"You think I made your life hell? Take a look around this dump. You're just a tourist with a typewriter, Barton, I live here"

Phone photo 1160

2012-02-07T04:47:00.001-08:00

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Vancouver, Washington

Favorite Movie Quotes: Atlantic City

2012-02-06T19:15:00.001-08:00

"The Atlantic Ocean was something then. You should have seen the Atlantic Ocean in those days."

Phone photo 1159

2012-02-06T19:08:00.001-08:00

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Vancouver, Washington

Favorite Movie Quotes: Asphalt Jungle

2012-02-06T06:14:00.000-08:00

"Experience has taught me never to trust a policeman. Just when you think one's all right, he turns legit."

Phone photo 1158

2012-02-06T05:08:00.000-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: As Good As It Gets

2012-02-05T21:26:00.001-08:00

"What if this is as good as it gets?"

Phone photo 1157

2012-02-05T21:14:00.001-08:00

The Vashon Bicycle in the Tree: Why Has It Gone Viral?

2012-02-05T20:49:00.000-08:00

My post about the Vashon bike in the tree has been around for over 6 months, but suddenly the hits on this thing have gone ballistic, giving this blog a record high in visits.

Why? Now?

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2012-02-05T19:43:00.001-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: The Apartment

2012-02-05T19:28:00.001-08:00

"Why do people have to love people anyway?"

Films directed by Billy Wilder are worth hunting down. The guy was great at his craft.

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2012-02-05T19:09:00.000-08:00

Fort Vancouver palisades from the inside out.

Some Odd Illuminated Meeting Notes I Scrounged From 2011

2012-02-05T19:05:00.000-08:00

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2012-02-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

Replicas of Fort Vancouver outhouses

It is rather unfortunate this was very close to their well, less than 100 feet in fact.
But I guess they didn't think about total maximum daily load watershed issues in those days.

Favorite Movie Quotes: Animal Crackers

2012-02-05T17:46:00.000-08:00

"Why, you've got beauty, charm, money! You have got money, haven't you? Because if you haven't, we can quit right now."

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2012-02-05T17:20:00.001-08:00

A replica of the Chief Factor's residence (Hudson's Bay Co.), Fort Vancouver, Washington.

John McLoughlin, a British subject who later became an American citizen and served as one of the most important figures in aiding U.S. settlement in the disputed Pacific Northwest (an area claimed by Russia, Spain, Britain, and the United States), was the first resident.

I agree with the idea of renaming Thurston County, Washington after Dr. McLoughlin.

Favorite Movie Quotes: Angel on My Shoulder

2012-02-05T15:54:00.000-08:00

Satan hears a disturbance: "What in my domain is that"

Phone photo 1152

2012-02-05T15:52:00.001-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: And Then There Were None

2012-02-05T14:55:00.001-08:00

"Very stupid to kill the only servant in the house. Now we don't even know where to find the marmalade."

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2012-02-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: Amistad

2012-02-05T13:03:00.000-08:00

"Well, gentlemen, I must say I differ with the keen minds of the South and with our President, who apparently shares their views, offering that the natural state of mankind is instead, and I know this is a controversial idea, is freedom. Is freedom. And the proof is the length to which a man, woman or child will go to regain it once taken. He will break loose his chains. He will decimate his enemies. He will try and try and try, against all odds, against all prejudices, to get home."

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2012-02-05T12:18:00.001-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: American Beauty

2012-02-05T12:16:00.000-08:00

"Both my wife and daughter think I'm this gigantic loser. And they're right. I have lost something. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I know I didn't always feel this-- sedated. But you know what? It's never too late to get it back."

[Reviewed in Cheaper by the Dozen 48]

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2012-02-05T11:51:00.001-08:00

The Grant House, Fort Vancouver National Site, Washington

Built in 1849, this structure was around when Capt. Ulysses S. Grant arrived at Fort Vancouver in 1852, but he never lived here. Later, as President he probably did visit this place.

The spot where Grant actually lived 1852-1854 is now under a nearby freeway.

Weird Gifts From My Brother

2012-02-05T08:57:00.013-08:00

I try to weed these things out every once in awhile, but for years my brother Bryan has exhibited a strange taste in holiday and birthday gifts. Some examples:

Bad albums are a staple (yes, I still play vinyl). This one is right up there among the worst, Come On In! by the New Hope Singers International, "A musical collage from Jamaican calypso to the sounds of ancient Scotland to American rock." This group was sponsored by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

That's a picture of little Stevie sitting on a kiddie potty in Spokane, Washington back in the 1950s. The potty is adorned the head of some kind of poultry. I guess that makes it partly poultry. Get enough of these together and you can throw a partly poultry potty party.

Anyway, why is this photo encapsulated in a Kellogg's Corn Flakes place mat?

When I almost threw out this papier-mâché model of planet Earth (made by my brother when he was in grade school) as we were cleaning out the family farm in order to sell it a few years ago, Bryan stopped me and made a big deal of presenting it to me as a precious relic. And I, perhaps foolishly, accepted it.

My own name plate! How thoughtful.

Hey! Look! What every household needs, a concave Jesus face!

I think this is supposed to be something you can use in creating an illusion with light, either that or it is a really freaky gelatin mold.

My phone camera is not the greatest when it comes to close-ups. This amputee Leprechaun wasn't so lucky, apparently. Note the bloody stump. Maybe he was a leper, thus making him a Leperchaun. Also, leaving the tag with an obviously doctored inflated price is another frequent theme in these gifts as a demonstration of how "priceless" they are. In this case the cheap piece of crap was supposedly purchased for at least 22 bucks.

Ruth loved clowns so much she kept one in a jar!

Where does he get this stuff?

Santa has an array of little finishing nails in his beard. I think this is supposed to be an advent calendar, but the effect is quite creepy.

There has been much, much more over the years. I do look forward to receiving these fine items and perhaps I should start cruising garage sales now in order to return the favor next holiday season.

Phone photo 1148

2012-02-05T08:33:00.003-08:00

The Marshall House, Fort Vancouver National Site, Washington

Gen. George C. Marshall lived here 1936-1938

Favorite Movie Quotes: Amélie

2012-02-05T08:26:00.002-08:00

"Life's funny. To a kid, time always drags. Suddenly you're fifty. All that's left of your childhood fits in a rusty little box."

Phone photo 1147

2012-02-04T22:24:00.001-08:00

Fort Vancouver safe

Favorite Movie Quotes: All About Eve

2012-02-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

"The theatuh, the theatuh-- what book of rules says the theater exists only within some ugly buildings crowded into one square mile of New York City? Or London, Paris, or Vienna? Listen, junior. And learn. Want to know what the theater is? A flea circus. Also opera. Also rodeos, carnivals, ballets, Indian tribal dances, Punch and Judy, a one-man band-- all theater. Wherever there's magic and make-believe and an audience-- there's theater. Donald Duck, Ibsen, and the Lone Ranger. Sarah Bernhardt and Poodles Hanneford, Lunt and Fontanne, Betty Grable, Rex the Wild Horse, Eleanora Duse-- they're all theater. You don't understand them, you don't like them all-- why should you? The theater's for everybody, you included, but not exclusively-- so don't approve or disapprove. It may not be your theater, but it's theater for somebody, somewhere ... It's just that there's so much bourgeois in this ivory green room they call the theater. Sometimes it gets up around my chin."

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2012-02-04T21:54:00.001-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: The Amazing Adventure

2012-02-04T21:46:00.001-08:00

A psychiatrist's advice to a spoiled rich guy mired in listlessness:

"Disappear for a time. Earn your own living. Live on a few pounds a week if you can make them. If not, go hungry. Do that for a year and I'll guarantee it'll make you fit."

[Reviewed in Cheaper by the Dozen 44]

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2012-02-04T20:55:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2294

2012-02-04T20:42:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2294 was tucked behind a posted notice at Friend's Landing on the Chehalis River, Grays Harbor County, Washington.

Phone photo 1144

2012-02-04T20:38:00.001-08:00

Favorite Movie Quotes: Aliens Among Us

2012-02-04T20:31:00.000-08:00

A drunken judge in a remote Arizona town describes his companions in the local tavern:

"Chaff. When you harvest wheat you've got the useful stuff. That's wheat. But then you've got then useless stuff and that's chaff. This whole room is full of chaff."

[Reviewed in Cheaper by the Dozen 41]

Phone photo 1143

2012-02-04T19:59:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2293

2012-02-04T19:56:00.001-08:00

Morty Comix # 2293 was deposited in a shelf of community reading material in a restaurant in Cosmopolis, Washington

Phone photo 1142

2012-02-04T08:52:00.001-08:00

Googly-Eyed Michael Douglas,
referenced in my review of Wonder Boys in Cheaper by the Dozen 22