The Simpson Blog

America’s lobby group for gun-lovers appeared before the cameras and microphones Friday in a display that seemed to catch even the critics off-guard: blaming the media, blaming video games, saying what’s needed is a database of people with mental illness. But since no questions were allowed, we don’t know if that would include people with, say, anxiety disorders or depression or insomnia. NRA executive Wayne LaPierre insists regulating guns will not prevent mass shootings such as the massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown Connecticut. And given the opportunity to rephrase some of his startling statements. He chose to forcefully stick by them. He told interviewers yesterday the American people think it would be "crazy'' not to put armed guards in every school. The standout quote from Friday’s news event: "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.'' Is that so? Had he forgotten what stopped the mass murdere

Merry Christmas to everyone from Scott, Amanda, Kitty and Kitty! Taking pictures of everything. Click to embiggen. It's been a landmark year for me. Professionally, my work was recognized by the RTDNA . It's always encouraging to get awards. I also got a lot more opportunities to guest-host Maritime Morning and The Rick Howe show on News95.7 Halifax , News91.9 Moncton and News88.9 Saint John. Interesting things are probably ahead for the year to come, too. In the creative realm, I've recently launched a new web site about my life as a wrestling fan in Southern Ontario  and a new YouTube series. Other side projects have kept me learning. The new Canon T4i camera will keep that going. At home, some projects got accomplished. With my dad's help, we got some structures level that were crooked . We found out that a structure we suspected of being crooked was in no danger of falling down. We finished the deck refinishing . And we've set up some renovations to

Here we go with Episode 2 of Under The Stairs. This time it's the original vinyl pressing of Pac-Man Fever by Buckner and Garcia in 1982. What a find! Have a watch and get the whole story on this classic album.

Former home of the Comic Wizard, Newmarket, Ontario , originally uploaded by BigAssSuperBlog . Via Flickr: King George Hotel 232 main St. S. King George Hotel, circa 1845, was established by James Forsyth as the Forsythe House on the site of an earlier hotel owned by fur traders Roe & Borland. The original location Comic Wizard was downstairs where you see the Poodle Corner, in a dark, cramped basement location (bottom right). Eventually the Wiz moved up to the main retail space in the former King George Hotel -- now Where Angels Tread, but after the Comic Wizard closed, it was a lingerie shop. I sold my whole Star Wars to collection to the Comic Wizard in his basement dungeon in about 1984 in order to buy the steering wheel accessory for the ColecoVision -- Expansion Module #2 with Turbo -- from Sears. Stupid move.

Former Roxy, Odeon theatre in Newmarket , originally uploaded by BigAssSuperBlog . Via Flickr: The movie theatre where I first saw Star Wars ... the Muppet Movie ... pretty much everything until the mid-1980s when more theatres opened at Glenway Cinema and the Film Factory. This theatre opened some time before 1959 as the Roxy. Left to right, you can see the entry doors, the location of the box office window, and windows for posters.

Former Loblaws, 232 main St. S. in Newmarket, Ontario , originally uploaded by BigAssSuperBlog . Via Flickr: My mom used to take us grocery shopping here in the late 1970s. Loblaws later opened a much bigger store at "the new plaza" on the southeast corner of Yonge & Davis. This became the Newmarket Antique mall, which is worth a visit just to see the inside of the former Loblaws store. The whole outside of the building used to be brown. You can see the ramps which facilitated getting shopping carts up and down to and from the parking lot.

I've been home recovering from a double hernia repair surgery, and getting a few creative things done while trying to minimize movement and lifting and all that jazz. It's resulted in a few discoveries and launches: Under The Stairs is a new YouTube series about some treasures found in a box under the stairs in my house. Most of them were packed away years ago when I moved with Amanda from Toronto to Halifax. Check out the first episode, featuring a large-sized Kenner Darth Vader action figure from 1978. Further episodes have been shot and are being edited now. Toronto-wrestling.com is a new website about my journey as a wrestling fan from a 12-year-old to present time. I've also registered wrestling-photos.com , which redirects to the same site. Among the things I found under the stairs was a packet of photographs of the band Ween at their famous concert at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto. That show was released as the first record from Chocodog Records, &q

Enjoy these rare photos from the famous Ween Live in Toronto concert at the Phoenix Concert Theatre on Sherbourne St. This concert was released on CD and later vinyl as the first pressing on Chocodog records, " Ween Live in Toronto ", the live country album featuring the Shit Creek Boys. These prints were rediscovered in an envelope in a box under my stairs and scanned at 600dpi.Goes nicely with my interview from the day before: http://www.bigasssuperstar.com/2008/01/cygnals-ween-all-about-high-shit.html

Meet my latest web series: Under The Stairs. When I moved from Toronto to Halifax in 2005, I had to part with a lot of cool collectibles. There was no way we were going to ship a Pac-Man machine or 60-pound reel-to-reel recorder across the country, for example. And considering I was moving in with a woman, some of the items did not have a place in the new apartment. Some of my most treasured items did survive. I put them in a big plastic tote labeled "SCOTT ARCHIVE" and when we moved into our house, it was put under the stairs with the Christmas decorations. In the new series, I'll be digging into the box to rediscover some cherished memories. Here's Episode 1, where I find a 15" Kenner Darth Vader action figure from 1978. It's available in Full HD (1080p) so hit the full-screen button and enjoy.