Crayon News: Oscars Best-Dressed 2019

I have two passions in life: Fashion and corn dogs.

The two go hand-in-hand when you think about it. A corn dog is just a hot dog with a fancy bread dress.

So while eating corn dogs and watching the Oscars red carpet Sunday night, I made a list of my favorite outfits. However, rights to these photos can be expensive and I don’t have money to use them (I’m eating corn dogs for crying out loud). So I’m forced to improvise.

But necessity is the mother of invention, so I invented Crayon News.

And here’s the latest edition of Coffee With Cory’s Crayon News: Oscars Fashion 2019.

Enjoy!

If you don’t like watching videos, here are photos of my favorite outfits from this year’s Oscars!

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New Emojis Coming in 2019 and a 1993’s ‘Cliffhanger’

Hard to believe, but 230 new emojis will be released in 2019.

Some are better than others. This year’s batch includes emojis for the blind and deaf communities, as well as those with disabilities.

There are cute, cuddly animals getting emojis and there are new pictures of delicious foods you’ll be able to send to your friends when they ask what you feel like eating.

Check out the entire list of new emojis coming in 2019 HERE:

There were two specific emojis that caught my eye in that batch. One of them will obviously not be used for it’s intended purpose. Ever.

And another one led me down a rabbit hole of revisiting one of the great movies of the 1990s, which led to another startling revelation. Watch here:

Cocktail and Road House: The Same Universe?

While watching Road House this past weekend (as I do most weekends), I couldn’t help but rekindle a thought that has plagued me for years: Road House and Cocktail occur in the same universe.

Much like Marvel and DC characters occupy the same world, I believe the ’80s icons Road House and Cocktail also take place within the same world.

Both movies have A-list actors at the front of a ridiculous plot with gratuitous violence and sex. And let’s not forget the amazing, yet dated soundtracks. Hell, they even have the same poster:

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Both movies carry-out their plotlines with the drama of a Shakespearean play, yet at their core are really just about a cocky, little fish bartender finding his way in the big pond of New York City and a philosophical cooler/bouncer maintaining order at an outhouse of a bar in Small Town, USA.

I propose that at some point in cinematic time, these two titans clashed. This is what Hollywood should’ve been focusing on, not Critters 3 (although where would Leonardo DiCaprio be today without Critters 3?).A crossover feature of Cocktail and Road House. Cock House. No, that’s not a good idea. Road Tail. No. Ok, we’ll work on the title later.

But think about it. At the beginning of Road House, we find Patrick Swayze in some New York-style bar. It very well could’ve been the bar that Tom Cruise visited when he brought Bryan Brown that bottle of whiskey to settle a bet in the Bahama’s that he couldn’t bed a rich chick.

Bryan Flanagan could’ve walked right by Dalton as he was breaking up a fight between two guys openly doing cocaine on a glass table while some unknown band rocked out with key-tars and loose-fitting vests to a crowd that actually filled a dance-floor for hours. The ’80s seemed like a great time for bar bands, as is evidenced by both Cocktail and Road House. As someone that plays in a bar band in 2019, this just isn’t the case anymore. Dance, people!

The only difference I can come up with:

  • Dudes are driving around a Monster Truck in Road House. How is this legal? They are literally driving it around like it’s a Honda Accord! I understand it’s a corrupt town, but a Monster Truck is a bit egregious, right? They did use it for it’s intended purpose when they destroyed a car dealership with it, but they also just drove it to the Double Deuce on a random Thursday night just to sit in it and spy on Dalton necking with Brad Wesley’s ex. Not very subtle. And the gas mileage! Think of the gas mileage! Even Cocktail didn’t get that absurd. Other than that, they’re pretty much the same.

The similarities:

  • Both movies feature cliche, yet riveting dialogue that somehow makes Weekend at Bernie’s feel like Hamlet, but still leaves you with a grin on your attentive face as you hang on every word.
  • Both movies highlight (glorify?) the excess culture of the 1980s.
  • Both movies are cult classics
  • As previously mentioned, both movies seem to show bar bands at their peak.
  • Both movies feature the talented, beautiful, iconic Kelly Lynch.

Ahhh, there you go. Kelly Lynch is the “Lynchpin” (HA!) in all of this.

Could these movies co-exist? I think that’s obvious, but only one person could confirm it. Unfortunately, we lost Patrick Swayze way too early and Tom Cruise doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would confirm something that he did 30 years ago. But I’ve always admired Kelly Lynch and knew she could help me out with this.

So I tweeted her.

Not only did Kelly Lynch respond, but she built upon this theory that the two movies happen in the same world when she suggested that her 1989 film Drugstore Cowboy could also live within this insane world of jail-themed bars with amateur poetry and ripping dude’s throats out after they try and kill an old man by literally blowing up his house because they have a vendetta against the philosophy major who lives in the barn and kind of reminds him of guys with whom he used to have intimate relationships in prison.

The point is… Kelly Lynch! Kelly Lynch is on board with this. And so are others. Or at least one other guy.

Sam Adams, the guy who tweeted out a video of WSU Head Coach Mike Leach blowing on his hot coffee, also agrees with me:

The rough draft plot would feature Kelly Lynch’s character and Dalton (Doc and Dalton) heading back to NYC after the events of Road House. Dalton just couldn’t take living in a town where he already killed so many people. Memphis was not an option, we already know that (too much blood in that town, too). So they went back to NYC where for some reason, Kelly Lynch’s character left Dalton, who no longer was a functioning member of society after ripping out so many throats, for Bryan Brown’s character.

We all know what happened to Bryan Brown’s character. Unable to cope with this latest failed relationship, Kelly Lynch’s character heads for the west coast (Portland) where we pick up with Drugstore Cowboy.

That’s your rough draft timeline. It focuses on Kelly Lynch’s character more than anyone else. Again, because Mr. Swayze can’t reprise his role and there’s no hope for Tom Cruise reprising his. but come on, tying three movies together with the Lynchpin herself! What Hollywood executive dares not to green-light this!

Let me know.

2019 Golden Globes Fashion Review

I know two things: Fashion and drawing. And I’m totally awesome at both.

So when absolutely no one asked me to give my “2019 Golden Globes Best Dressed” list, i pounced at the opportunity to show off my natural talent for putting clothes on and drawing.

You see, airing pictures photographers take on the red carpet costs money. A lot of money. I don’t have that money. So I have to improvise. Here are my best-dressed winners for the 2019 Golden Globes.

(Shoutout to the Fiji Water Girl for always photobombing the celebrities. I couldn’t even get her out of my drawings!)

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If you don’t like looking at pictures and prefer your medium to be video, watch this:

Politics and Text messages

I have mixed feelings on political season. Mostly because there doesn’t appear to be a season anymore. They all just run together. Like how The Bachelor has been on TV for 16 years but they are inexplicably in their 87th season.

As the 2018 political season ends, it won’t be long until we start seeing campaigning for 2020.

In Canada, their election campaign length is 78 days.

In Japan, it’s 12. By law. Only 12 days compared to the hundreds of campaign days here.

Non-stop ads and this year, something different: Annoying texts messages. From both sides of the aisle. So I responded to them in the only way I know how.

I never heard back.

So now that the election is over, here you go! My responses to just two of the MANY texts I received.

First up: A text received from a Democratic candidate and my response:123

Next, as I am not biased in my trolling of either party, a response to a Republican candidate:

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FAT BEAR WEEK in Katmai National Park

For the past week, Katmai National Park in Alaska has been holding their annual “Fat Bear Week.” It was new to me this year, but I’m hooked.

I’ve had the privilege of visiting Katmai National Park and seeing the bears feast at Brooks Falls and it was truly something to behold.

And now there’s a tournament where the people vote for which bear is the fattest? It’s basically the most important election of 2018. Count me in!

There were a lot of Fat Bears this year, but ultimately it came down to these two behemoths.

BEAD NOSE VS 747

Beadnose (left) vs. Bear 747 (right) in a gigantic finale to find the fattest bear in Katmai National Park

Although I feel like the camera angles help, Beadnose in this matchup (she’s sort of squatted down which pushes her fat up), ultimately Beadnose took the championship this year.

But all of the bears gave their best effort to get fat and I wanted to honor them. So I emailed Sir Elton John to ask if he’d do me the honor of singing a tribute song I wrote for the fat bears of Katmai National Park.  I never heard back.

I did hear back from an out-of-work, off-key and out of time Elton John impersonator named Kyle I found on Craigslist. Here’s the touching tribute to these magnificent beasts. Congrats, Beadnose!

Cory’s Reviews: Oregon Coast Summer Rental

During our vacations, we like to stay at AirBnBs. Better than a hotel, if you ask me and I can walk around in my underwear in the hallways without getting weird looks. My favorite part is when we leave. Because I get to sign the guestbook and review our stay. Possibly even offer up some advice to the next guests.

Most people will simply leave a “Thanks! We had fun! You have a beautiful house!” kind of note. Not me. That is a disservice to the people who have opened up their home to you for money. They need to know exactly what was enjoyable and what we might change for our next trip.

I’ve written a bunch of these, but it was only this summer I decided to begin documenting it and sharing it with the 20 or so people that come to coryhoward.com. Thanks for visiting, by the way.

This review is of a place we stayed at during the first week of July 2018, just a little south of Lincoln City. It was a beautiful home. Right on the coast. And we had a blast! Even met a pretty cool guy.

Here’s the review. Hope you enjoy.

July 5, 2018

What a vacation! What a house! What an experience!

I’ve lived in houses all my life and let me tell you, this is a nice one! Yeah, the location is great, but my favorite part was the clothes holder things in the closets! They were perfect for holding up my clothes and keeping them off the ground! They just hung there! And there were so many! Since they are triangled shaped, I also used them to trace perfect triangles on the 200 ft. roll of butcher paper I brought, which is a hobby of mine. I traced so many triangles! They were perfect thanks to those things hanging in the closets! I’m gonna have to get me some. 

I went into Lincoln City and asked a nice man at the gas station if they sold any triangle tracers that also hold clothes off the ground, but he just looked at me weird and said, “You want regular?” I’ll keep trying, but just want you to know they were appreciated. 

What else can I tell you about our lovely stay?

We saw a rabbit. We went to Lincoln City and found this little restaurant called Moe’s. I’m not even sure the locals know about Moe’s, but if you’re reading this, definitely hit up Moe’s! Best hamburger I’ve had in the south end of Lincoln City! If you want the best burger on the north end of the city, try the Mexican place next to the kite store! 

What else? 

Oh, we met Bruce Willis. On the third of July we were sitting on the deck and heard some beautiful harmonica playing coming from the beach. Like sailors to a siren, we were called to it. We walked down to the beach and there he was, sitting on a stump, playing his harp. It was happy blues, not sad blues. When he finished his song, he slowly pulled the harmonica away from his mouth, started into the fire and said, “That was called Moonlighting, which I was on in the 80’s.” 

He introduced himself. 

“Hit, I’m Bruce Willis.” 

“Yeah, we know!” we said. 

We chatted for a while. Asked him what he was doing here all by himself and I kid you not, he said: “Just thought I’d come out to the coast, have a few laughs.” 

We all lost our s**t!

He said it just like the movie Die Hard!

Anyways, we invited him up to the house. He cooked us spaghetti. He also single-handedly put together the Amish puzzle. Well, about 1/2 of it. He did that in about 2 hours. We left it partially put together for the next people because well we felt bad tearing apart a puzzle Bruce Willis put together. 

He crashed on the cough and when we woke up, he was gone. Just a note that said, “Thanks. – B”

So that was fun. 

Oh, we also enjoyed the blue plastic coffee mugs. There were only 2 or 3, but we’d all fight over them. I’d recommend getting more. 

Also a BBQ. 

All in all, great house! Thanks! 

– The Howards, Bernas, and Glenns! (And Willis)

 

Cory’s review of this review: 3.5/5 Kurt Russells. What’s your review of it? Let me know on my Facebook page or in the comments! If you liked it, share it with your friends.

And I just got back from a few days at a cabin in Mt. Rainier. Look for a review on that stay soon!

Bye! Love you!

 

 

I set my own World Record. Eat it, Harvey.

As a kid, the Guinness Book of World Records was my jam. The 1991 version, before they sold out. They didn’t actually sell out. That just sounded cool to say.

As a kid, setting a record seemed like a huge deal. As an adult, it’s easy to see it’s just a matter of following a formula:

Take something normal + Doing something with it abnormal an absurd amount of times or for an extended period of time + be the first to do it = World Record Holder.

Or you could just be born with a specific genetic disposition. Be really tall. Be really overweight. Be really small. Don’t ever clip your fingernails and be really old. Eventually, you’ll break that record.

If you aren’t fortunate to be 743 pounds with the ability to ride a motorcycle, just follow the formula. Like I did on Good Day when I became the first person in history to balance a Godzilla figurine who was wearing a tuxedo on my head while holding an 8″x10″ photo of one of my heroes, Kurt Russell, while telling viewers about other people setting records.

I’m not exactly sure how long I went for, but I definitely set a record. Check it out.

*”Eat it, Harvey” is a tribute to the great newsman Richard Thornburg, who famously told his anchor Harvey to “Eat it” while begging for a news truck to go check out the situation at Nakatomi just seconds before Harvey went on air. I feel that balancing a Godzilla figurine on my head while holding a photo of Kurt Russell in an attempt to set a world record embodies the spirit of Thornburg. Thank you.

cory godzilla

Also, show this picture during my funeral slideshow. Whenever that may be. Without context.

COFFEE WITH CORY HOW TO: Taking the Perfect Back to School Photo

It’s been far too long since I posted something on here. I was asked by one of the anchors on Good Day: “Can you do a segment on taking a perfect Back to School photo?”

How to take the perfect back to school photo? Hmmmm. A wonderful assignment. An important one. One that I took very seriously.

So to the four or so people that read/watch this stuff, here’s what I came up with:

Kicking off the Phone Case Revolution with My New Invention

People have some stupid ideas, but the other day I saw one of the stupidest: A 22-pound dumbbell phone case.

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Yeah. This thing is being sold by a company in Japan and while the dude modeling it looks nice enough (and jacked, surely due solely to his 22-pound weight curls he does while browsing for supplements and looking at Instagram photos of himself in bodybuilding competitions), there’s no way carrying around your phone while it’s attached to a 22-pound dumbbell is in anyway convenient.

But was I missing something here? Was this an opportunity? I decided to go that route and look at it as a way to enter the emerging market of phone cases. That Japanese company sold at least one (maybe).

I bet I could invent a cool and totally useful phone case and sell at least two!

Here’s what I came up with: The Coffee With Cory Colander Phone Case!