X-Entertainment's Christmas Season & Advent Calendar, 2008.

01/22/2006: New Article: X-Entertainment’s Freezer!

So, I cleaned out the freezer today.

Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

Discussion Thread: 564 comments

Man, your freezer is a goldmine of fun, a treasure of pleasure!

I wish mine was as cool.

Chestnuts roasted by Warx @ 01/22/2006 9:42 PM EST

Wow. The fact that you’re considering taking any of that stuff with you to your new apartment is astonishing. o.O

Chestnuts roasted by Mystie @ 01/22/2006 9:43 PM EST

That Spider-Man, he’s staring into my soul.

Chestnuts roasted by Darth Poop @ 01/22/2006 9:44 PM EST

I’ve eaten those potato smiles! They were pretty good when they came out. Even half-frozen. Can’t really go wrong with potatoes though.

Chestnuts roasted by Poop_Donkey @ 01/22/2006 9:52 PM EST

I gotta wonder what people say when they see the contents of your freezer when searching for ice or whatever.
My sons daycare serves those potato smilies almost daily, along side a heaping pile of ketchup.
OH YEAH, yay SEAHAWKS!

Chestnuts roasted by kb @ 01/22/2006 9:58 PM EST

Could the patty for the Scooby Doo Sandwhich builder be house shaped?

Chestnuts roasted by Karen @ 01/22/2006 10:18 PM EST

My roommate got those McCain Smiles fries a couple months ago, and hated them. In fact, he was so adamant about how terrible they were that I didn’t even try one.
By the way, the pink Fla-Vor-Ices are awesome. You’ve got to admit that they’re at least better than the green variety.

Chestnuts roasted by Gozer @ 01/22/2006 10:20 PM EST

1) I brought my Stinkor to kindergarten one day. Some evil kid dumped him in the sandbox and ruined him.

2) I recently had football (and football related) shaped chicken nuggets stuffed with cheese. I don’t care how much of an affront to nature they are. They was DEE-licious.

3) Does anyone else find it odd that Matt seems to be updating more often now than he did during December?

5) I’m done now.

Chestnuts roasted by Rhino @ 01/22/2006 10:21 PM EST

Ah so, young Gozer, mayhaps you are not old enough to remember that green Fla-Vor-Ices are edible Luke Skywalker lightsabers.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 01/22/2006 10:21 PM EST

FINALLY! An article! And It was good. And my parents say I’m bad when I save everything…

One thing that stood out for me in that article? The mention of Micro-Magic Fries. You have absolutely no idea how long I ate those almost every night of the week. Yes, the boxes were kickass and since I stopped finding them in stores around here in LI some 8+ years ago, I haven’t had microwaveable fries since. And I sure do miss Pop Qwiz too. Only kind of popcorn I ever ate and I’m still pissed that it’s gone.

Continuing the SNL topic from the SNT…thread, here’s a topic sure to rake in comments:

Who is/are your favorite Weekend Update Anchor(s)? My Top 3 consists of these 3:

-Kevin Nealon. He delivered Weekend Update like an actual newsman. Every so often he would do something that seemed to be from a real news show, like saying "And now a look at the National Picture" and a map on the US would show up on the screen. All the jokes and fake guests seemed to be treated with all seriousness, while also fending off the advances of Ike Turner. He’s also the only anchor to appear on WU before and after his reign while as a castmember. (He’s appeared on both Dennis Miller’s and Norm MacDonald’s WU sketches)
-Norm MacDonald. His dry voice & wit seemed perfect for this. At the beginning of most of his sketches, unlike Kevin, he admitted that it was Fake News.
-Colin Quinn. Another smarmy delivery of the news in his own fashion. He had big shoes to fill from Norm’s departure, and in his first sketch he compares himself to the New Bartender at your favorite bar. While he too appeared on WU before and since his reign, he was long gone from the show when he appeared on Tina & Jimmy’s era.

Chestnuts roasted by Invader Norbert @ 01/22/2006 10:40 PM EST

Matt: Ah so, young Gozer, mayhaps you are not old enough to remember that green Fla-Vor-Ices are edible Luke Skywalker lightsabers.

Game. Set. Match. I have surely shamed my ancestors for not thinking of that.

Chestnuts roasted by Gozer @ 01/22/2006 10:42 PM EST

The old Video Store you mentioned, the Easy Video Outlet on Route 9 in Woodbridge is no more. It closed within the past two weeks and the building is currently being renovated.

And the abandoned Razz-Ma-Tazz building was demolished last summer.

Chestnuts roasted by Lance @ 01/22/2006 10:42 PM EST

Choco-tacos are golden gods of ice cream, and they’re not dead either. I see them all the time around here (South Carolina). There are some in a gas station a minute from my house, and some sold in a Block buster, too.

But if it’s hard to find near where you live, keep it just as a reminder.

As for obviously extinct things you need to keep..

Go with the dinosaur nuggets. Simply because the T-rex on that package is too cute to kill. Seriously, just look at him, and his little arms.

Chestnuts roasted by Aristobulus @ 01/22/2006 10:47 PM EST

By the way, here’s the nerdiest thing I did this weekend:
1) While watching the episode of He-Man with Molkrom the huge horse-like monster (the second episode of Disk 3 of the first box-set) I was reminded of Montaro from Mortal Kombat fame.
2) I played Mortal Kombat II on "Midway Arcade Tresures 2" disk for half an hour before realising once more how terrible I am at that game.
3) Something then made me think it would be a good idea to play Rampage World Tour for like an hour-and-a-half. I can see maybe playing that game for like 45 minutes with two friends, but alone?

Chestnuts roasted by Gozer @ 01/22/2006 10:49 PM EST

YES!
The spoiled food articles are probably my favorites on this site, and this one was like many of those rolled into one!

Excellent! Bravisimo!

Chestnuts roasted by Tetsu Deinonychus @ 01/22/2006 10:55 PM EST

Choco-tacos are still in production, adn not as hard to find as you may think. I work at Taco-time (Western taco-hellhole, dunno if you have it back east), and we have literally, 50+ boxes of them in the freezer.

Chestnuts roasted by Black Jester @ 01/22/2006 11:01 PM EST

Matt-

I know it’s probably too late, but can we get a pictorial representation of the old apartment, fully laden by your hordes of stuff, pre-cleaning and moving?

Likewise pics of the new XE National Headquarters?

Thatd be awesome.

Chestnuts roasted by Terror Claws Cole @ 01/22/2006 11:08 PM EST

Yay! Great to see some past article junk still lying around. I would definitly be putting those blue fries in a ziploc bag though. They’re way too cool for trash.

Also, today I went into some crappy/stinky old grocery store and found a container of Purplesaurus Rex! It’s in a metal can with the scoop and stuff, and it’s not even faded or anything! It’s awesome… It shall never be opened….

Chestnuts roasted by Mattman @ 01/22/2006 11:35 PM EST

I always enjoy reading your articles about food. I also like all the links to the old articles on old food.

Chestnuts roasted by Anna @ 01/22/2006 11:44 PM EST

And I thought I had a ton of stuff after I cleared out. Your freezer scares me. I’m moving in exactly a week myself, so I completely know where you’re coming from on the clean-out. I’ve been going through the myriad mountain of junk I have for over a year now…and I still shudder to think of the amount of boxes and crates I’m going to have to get up to the new apartment somehow.

It’s nice to go on an X-E nostalgia trip, though. The McCain Smiles and the Dinosaur nuggets still exist; I’ve seen both at the grocery store where I work. In fact, that’s one of the advantages of working in a grocery store. I’ve seen just about everything in this article at one time or another. Eggo must have about 16,000 different flavors now, from Homestyle to Nutri-Grain, not to mention half the fruits in existance. I think there’s still a SpongeBob Eggo floating around, though I’m not sure about the flavor.

Chestnuts roasted by starwenn @ 01/22/2006 11:49 PM EST

Waaay off the topic of old food products, but did anyone else go into orgasmic fits today when they found out Darkwing Duck is finally coming to DVD?

::huggles Darkwing plushie::

I’m a little excitable.

Chestnuts roasted by Mystie @ 01/23/2006 1:16 AM EST

It DID make me excited, Mystie, but not…you know…sexually.

The Tick is coming to DVD too; don’t forget. It’ll be an excellent month, if I can afford it.

Chestnuts roasted by Mars @ 01/23/2006 2:00 AM EST

What a nostalgia trip "1 Fry" is totally one of my favorites. I can’t believe you’ve kept all that stuff.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 01/23/2006 2:09 AM EST

Wow oh wow-I remember many of your articles that you mentioned here….and all of a sudden i am feeling nostalgia for 2003….lol man oh man i have a paper to write….

Chestnuts roasted by Mike the Great @ 01/23/2006 2:31 AM EST

If I have a say in it, and I assuredly don’t, I’d say take the blue fries. You’re the only person in the world with blue fries right now. You could probably take that to Guinness.

RIP Pop Qwiz. I spent many a TGIF with you.

Norm MacDonald is my favorite news anchor from SNL, by the by. I like his delivery. Nobody could ever get me to like Dennis Miller…not sure why. Nealon was good, and I enjoy what I’ve seen of Chase and Aykroyd/Curtain. Since the Fey/Fallon regime, Weekend Update has gotten too giggly. I like all of the anchors, but not AS anchors I guess.

Chestnuts roasted by mtrox @ 01/23/2006 6:54 AM EST

I just finished the last of the Hulk Hershey’s syrup I had last month. My future ice cream sundaes are about to get reeeeally lonely.

Chestnuts roasted by M. Fireball @ 01/23/2006 8:32 AM EST

I sell Choco Tacos at my work. How rare are they?

Chestnuts roasted by Piscez @ 01/23/2006 8:54 AM EST

Everytime I see Kid Cuisine in the grocery store, I will think of you haha

Chestnuts roasted by Willem @ 01/23/2006 10:04 AM EST

One of the most beautifully profound things I’ve ever read on this site…

In its most genuine form, people who seek the trinkets of their youth see more in them than parts and plastic. Many of us do not find it easy to piece together that whats and whys of who we are.

It’s so true! I’ve tried explaining this concept to my husband more than once and I get this look like, "I really want to understand where you’re coming from, but this is just beyond me." Thankfully, my obsessions haven’t extended to the freezer. I draw the line at anything perishable.

Chestnuts roasted by Lori @ 01/23/2006 10:11 AM EST

Matt, once again one of your articles has changed my life. For example, before reading this piece, my life did not include a terrible craving for macaroni and green pudding.

Chestnuts roasted by Jedoc @ 01/23/2006 10:55 AM EST

They still sell Choco-Tacos as desserts at Taco Villa restaurants.

Chestnuts roasted by johnseeking @ 01/23/2006 11:07 AM EST

I found the Wolverine & Spider-Man ice pops very disturbing. They are zombie pops.

On the snl tip. Norm, was my favorite weekend-update anchor.

Chestnuts roasted by Geoffinsanity @ 01/23/2006 11:17 AM EST

Lance…

I was so upset when they knocked down the Razz-ma-tazz building…it was such a cool looking place… i was really hoping they’d turn it into something cool…even a sleazy rt.35 strip club… at least I could have went back!

I think I may have got some video footage of the building before they knocked it down…so at least i have that.

Chestnuts roasted by Lou @ 01/23/2006 11:17 AM EST

Hahha that was awesome. Dug that. We’ve got some terrifying stuff in our freezer - a blend of $40 worth of vegetables that was disgusting and no one wanted to eat. It’s been there for a year.

Chestnuts roasted by Carl (theWAREHOUSE) @ 01/23/2006 11:24 AM EST

My favorite Weekend Update anchor would be Kevin and Norm. Closely followed by Dennis. Everyone knows Colin was a nightmare. I also liked Jimmy but although I like Tina and Amy I don’t consider them near the best.
Question, Am I the only one who does NOT enjoy the first few years the best? Yes, they were funny. I just think other years, especially late 80’s-early 90’s were far superior. Dunno, maybe it’s just me.

Chestnuts roasted by kb @ 01/23/2006 11:33 AM EST

A-hem, I have been informed by my 8 year old daughter that the Patty in the kids cuisine scooby doo package is supposed to be in the shape of scooby’s dog tag, that is all.

Chestnuts roasted by bloodybrilliantme @ 01/23/2006 11:54 AM EST

Jesus Christ, man, you scared me. I saw the ‘farewell’ in the title, and then that bit at the start of the article about having done X-E for 6 years, and I was sure you were shutting up shop.

Chestnuts roasted by Daniel85 @ 01/23/2006 12:04 PM EST

Iowa is swimming with Choco-Tacos. Heck, our Toys R Us sells them. Although I never tried one. I will now.

I’ve always wanted to try a WWF/E Ice Cream Bar but have NEVER been able to find them.

Those Spidey/Wolverine bars a scarey. I thought it was the Hulk bar until you mentioned Wolvie.

Speaking of Blue Fries, you might as well do an article on that multi-colored kethups Heinz tried to sale. Only saw the green version. I guess kids like normal looking food. I also remember those flavored ranch dressings (Pizza, nacho, super creamy, etc) that Hidden Valley tried to sale kids. Since when do kids eat salads?

The one food item that has disappeared that I DESPERATELY want back. It’s Pasta Anytime. They just vanished after a couple years. Just mix pasta with the sauce, nuke it for 3 minutes, and it was just as good fresh cooked pasta.

Norbert: I HATED Norm and Colin’s stint in the anchor’s chair. Those were just horrible seasons in general and they didn’t help.

My Fav’s:
Kevin Nealon- This was the period where various cast members would do their micro-characters. I LOVED Adam Sandler’s Operaman and Cajun Man. Also loved David Spade’s Hollywood Minute and Nealon’s Mr. Subliminal.

Dennis Miller- He was perfect with it. He’s number one in my book.

3.) Anyone except Norm and Colin. I like Fey with Poehler and Fallon (although Horatio Sanz did a great job subbing for Fey). The anchors in the 80’s are underrated. And of course, the orignal anchors are classic (Aakroyd, Curtain, Murray).

Chestnuts roasted by JLAJRC @ 01/23/2006 12:13 PM EST

Kid Cuisine rears its beasty head yet again! The idea of eating The Undertaker is just too much for my brain to handle..

Chestnuts roasted by Review the World @ 01/23/2006 12:24 PM EST

Gozer- I too spent the weekend watching that He-Man DVD set…I really loved episode 3 on disk one, where Evil-Lyn uses that changing staff to break into the castle and turn the king, Teela and Orco into animals,and then Skeletor makes FAKER- the FAKE He-Man! Wow, that was the highlight of my morning.

Just saw "syriana"- liked it, but need to see it again, because it was confusing.

Awesome Freezer Treasures, Matt- we don’t get half of that cool shit up here in the sticks- quite jealous of your junk (as usual!)

Chestnuts roasted by Muppet Baby @ 01/23/2006 12:24 PM EST

The years when Dennis Miller was doing the Weekend Update were the only time I could tolerate SNL or Dennis Miller. Both suck without each other.

Chestnuts roasted by dohopoki @ 01/23/2006 12:40 PM EST

Keep that stuff frozen until the very last possible moment. Otherwise, you know they’ll come to life and eat your socks. Food frozen that long just can’t be up to no good.

Generalissimo Franco is still dead, by the way.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash, the Choco-TacoDile @ 01/23/2006 12:43 PM EST

Wait, wait, wait…both Darkwing Duck AND The Tick are finally coming to DVD?! And in the same month?! When did this skip by me? I check all of those sites at least 10 times a day and I’ve only so far discovered Dinosaurs in the past week.

Back on my topic, I thought Dennis Miller was "ok" not bad, not great, but good.

Chestnuts roasted by Invader Norbert @ 01/23/2006 12:48 PM EST

Wow, that’s a ton of old food.

Lori: I thought that line was one of the best things I’ve read on this site.

Favorite SNL Anchors:

Neiland, Miller, and meh, that’s it. Not too fond of the Fallon/Fey team up. OR Collin.

Neiland’s time was probably the funniest. Espeicially when he had the guests. Spade was hysterical, and Sandlers characters were great. I especially liked Sandlers Thanksgiving over the TV.

"COME ON OLD MAN! YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME….?!?!?"

One of the funniest things Neiland ever said, at least to me was:

"A new survey was taken today. 4 out of 5 people questioned think the 5th ones an idiot…"

Or something like. He was so serious when he said it, I think I had tears in my eyes.

Chestnuts roasted by Galvatron @ 01/23/2006 1:03 PM EST

Nice article, Matt! I too enjoy your food articles. I dunno, something about ancient, weird food just makes me smile. And I love you all the more for caring about it just as much as we all do. *hugs*

And I’m about 95% sure I have a package of those Smiley fries in my freezer right now. The boyfriend and I have been on a "buy-everything-that’s-on-sale" kick the past couple of weeks at the grocery store, so our small freezer and many cupboards are well-stocked now. I love living on my own.

Best of luck moving into the new apt…I just tackled the bedroom yesterday, and we moved early this month. It wasn’t pretty, but the boyfriend’s family is coming to visit on Saturday for the first time, and I’d like them to think I actually know how to keep house. It’s fun to delude.

Chestnuts roasted by Nicole @ 01/23/2006 2:31 PM EST

Oh, the treasures you find if you look hard enough. LOL.

In your case, Matt, looking hard would be too easy–you easily have this treasure trove of goodies before you, a plethora of frozen interests.

Ohhh, kb and Galvatron, Dennis Miller is MY fave Weekend Update anchor!!! Tina Fey comes in at a VERY close 2nd. My all-time favorite cast member honors goes to Dana Carvey. A Best Of DVD is probably never likely for Dennis Miller though–it would be all Weekend Update–not like that’s a horrible thing!!! Favorite cast honors goes to the 1986-1990 regulars, they were the best together, and you can tell they had excellent chemistry.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/23/2006 2:57 PM EST

Every once’t in a while, I buy a frozen snack to throw in the ‘wave that is chicken nuggets and mashed potato happy faces.

Woo-hoo! Animated Tick DVDs!

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 01/23/2006 3:32 PM EST

All those pieces in the Robots dessert look like robotic penises (penii?) anyways. Actually, so does the macaroni. Seems to me that Kid Cuisine’s real goal here was to see if they could get away with making kids eat dick. Also, Choco Tacos are still out there, my campus cafeteria has them in abundance. Though that might not prove they are still being made FRESH, my school could very well have bought expired tacos in bulk and rubbed off the expiration dates.

Chestnuts roasted by Black Zarak @ 01/23/2006 3:39 PM EST

I think my alma mater’s cafeteria still has Choco Tacos, too.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/23/2006 3:41 PM EST

Darth Poop, you must use the power of "DEEEK!" on Spider Man. He does look like his eyes are burning into something, I think he’s reading my mind.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/23/2006 3:45 PM EST

mother of shitballs, BLUE FRENCH FRIES?!?!? I honestly have never seen anything like that before in my life. I feel so sheltered. Matt, your freezer is so tidy, all those boxes stacked in there. Mine’s one of those with ice forming along the sides and scary tupperware full of who-knows-what precariously crammed in. The last time I cleaned out a freezer was during the past summer, I found a package of ground beef from three years ago (no lies, i swear), which is double weird because I’m vegetarian.

SNL Weekend Update Anchors- I LOVE Tina Fey. She’s awesome at keeping a straight face.

Chestnuts roasted by Lizzy @ 01/23/2006 4:52 PM EST

I like this–first, closing logo discussions, and NOW "Weekend Update" anchor discussions. Did someone tap into my brain and figure out what I was thinking! This rocks!

DEEEEEEEEEEEK!

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/23/2006 5:06 PM EST

My favorite Weekend Update anchor is Kevin Nealon, he’s so straightforward and honest that it’s funny. He also had better material. Dennis Miller and Chevy Chase were good too.

Jimmy Fallon would be last on my list. He’s about as bad an actor as Chris Kattan (and that’s saying a lot!)

Chestnuts roasted by mjf7583 @ 01/23/2006 5:13 PM EST

Great article Matt. I’ve been reading for six years and they just keep on coming!

As for the SNL: it’s only a matter of time before they sick Samberg on Weekend Update too. Lorne will soon see that the Lonely Island guys are the only good thing he has going for him…

Chestnuts roasted by Brad @ 01/23/2006 5:18 PM EST

Allison:
Dana Carvey had to be one of my favorite cast members of all time. Next to Eddie Murphy and him doing Black Gumbi and Buckwheat.

I think SNL started to suck shortly after that group began to depart. Dennis Miller was great also. I especially liked when Dana Carvey would impersonate him.

Chestnuts roasted by Galvatron @ 01/23/2006 5:24 PM EST

While I was up on the side of the mountain, carving Lost Poster names, I wondered what kind of noise those birds were making. "DEEEK! DEEEK! DEEE-EEEK! Rankin-Bass!"

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 01/23/2006 5:35 PM EST

Some of those Kid Cuisines are freaky. I’m not a fan of runny macaroni and cheese. I like cheese, but preferably not in soup form.

Favourite SNL WU anchors:

I like the anchors that actually appear as though they could be actual anchors. It just makes it a better contrast (and funnier, of course) if they end up doing something ridiculous.

Jane Curtin: She was believable as a anchor, and her interaction with her co-anchors or another character was great. As a sidenote, some people put the original SNL on this mighty pedestal that no other era can possibly reach, but I think it’s too simple to say that all eras after the original suck.
Norm Macdonald: He doesn’t fit with my description of a good WU anchor, but his delivery was funny and more than made up for it. I wish, just once, he did Weekend Update as Burt Reynolds.
Tina Fey : "That’s the last time I suck beer out of dirt with you." I like that Weekend Update is sillier now. I think it works and now and again, there’s something spontaneous that ends up being hilarious.

Chestnuts roasted by Dr. Acula @ 01/23/2006 6:10 PM EST

I was watching a "Weekend Update" the other night from May 1987, and Miller’s mullet was at its peak of length. It was significantly shorter the following season–you think NBC told him to cut his hair???

You can pretty much gauge the season or year by how long Miller’s hair is if you missed the opening credits. Pretty weird, but true. It was its longest in the spring of 1987 and 1988-1989. It was its shortest in late 1990, but I guess he couldn’t keep it that way, b/c it was slightly longer again by early 1991, when he left.

I like Tina Fey b/c there aren’t nearly enough smart, funny, female comedians. Plus, she was the 1st female head writer for SNL, and 1st female "Weekend Update" anchor (of note) since 1980. Ok, ok, I think there were two in the early 80s, but did anyone honestly care about what happened on SNL in the early ’80s.

Galvatron–Dana Carvey rocks!! I was watching Critic’s Choice the other night on HBO Comedy for the 1st time unedited (I’ve seen it plenty on Comedy Central). That show is friggin’ hillarious!

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/23/2006 6:23 PM EST

I almost forgot (almost)–Dana Carvey as Dennis Miller is classic. He does Miller better than Miller could do himself. I heard he used to CRINGE at the impression Carvey did. Jeez, Dennis, its fairly accurate.

That high-pitched girlie laugh is hysterical. Miller doesn’t have one of those horribly fake laughs that far too many actors have–this guy’s laugh is extremely natural-sounding, though quite silly. Always sounds like he’s enjoying himself. I like how he reacts on stage and on "Update" when people go "ooooooooh!"–he says it back and laughs that crazy laugh–Haha!

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/23/2006 6:27 PM EST

Futurama News!!!

It’s confirmed that they are making FOUR direct to DVD Futurama full length movies! Holy Shit!!

Chestnuts roasted by Mattman @ 01/23/2006 6:47 PM EST

Choco Tacos are proof there is a God. I discovered Choco Tacos last summer, and I’ve been addicted on a nonstop eating binge since then.

Chestnuts roasted by Reid @ 01/23/2006 7:15 PM EST

McDonald, Nealon and then Miller would be my fav SNL anchors, though I couldn’t sit through an episode nowadays if you paid me. Not even my love of UCB’s delightfully impish Amy Poehler goes that far.
Holy shit is right! Now this is an exciting topic! I really hated the fact that Futurama ended prematurely because I’m just a big romantic softie….F/L foreva!
What are the big things you guys are anticipating this year? I mentioned The Sopranos in the other thread…I can’t wait for The Animaniacs DVD set…that Clive Owen heist movie looks really great, and The Breakup looks amusing too.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 01/23/2006 7:34 PM EST

Remember on SNL last year when they did the "American Idol" parody, and Amy Poehler/Paula Abdul was crying when Constantine was eliminated, and said that everyone she loves leaves her…and named MC Scat Cat as one of them?! Talk about digging through the bottom of the nostalgic reference bin for that one! MC Scat Cat?! Just screams ’80s!!!

Its gems like that they baffle me every time SNL isn’t more consistent. ’80s SNL always seemed consistent–perhaps everything just melded right.

Who thinks Dennis Miller should come back and host, so he can sit at the "Weekend Update" desk again? Oh the glory of it!

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/23/2006 7:43 PM EST

Hey those smiley fries are still readily available here in Australia. I’d give my left ball for one of those tacos however..

Chestnuts roasted by DarthPong @ 01/23/2006 8:39 PM EST

DarthPong? This blog isn’t big enough for two Darths. I’m calling you out DarthPong.

Chestnuts roasted by Darth Poop @ 01/23/2006 9:28 PM EST

Ooooh… Dissention in the Sith. Sounds like it’s time for a good old fashioned Flavor-ice lightsaber duel.

On another note…

Aren’t Jimmy Fallon and Chris Kataan the same guy? (more or less)

Chestnuts roasted by Rhino @ 01/23/2006 9:35 PM EST

Son of a bitch! I thought you were shutting the site down as well and I got a big lump in my throat.

Dunno what I would do. Nothing could ever replace this site. It’s far too original and I’ve been reading it ever since I googled Swanson dinners and found the Breakfast From Hell article.

Thank God that this isn’t the case…

Chestnuts roasted by ANdrew @ 01/23/2006 9:40 PM EST

Heh they just showed how the Smiley Fry/Mashed Potato things are made on Food Network’s Unwrapped.

Check the repeat at 1:30 AM EST to see it!

Chestnuts roasted by Xevo @ 01/23/2006 9:42 PM EST

Son of a bitch AGAIN!

I just read Mattman’s post about the new Futurama shows and and the post of the Darkwing Duck going to DVD. That made my night! Thank you so much guys for letting me know. You don’t know what that means to me.

Chestnuts roasted by ANdrew @ 01/23/2006 9:51 PM EST

Darkwing, Darkwing DUCK? Great!

I ADORE Jane Curtin…man, she is hilarious. The chemistry she and John Lithgow had on "3rd Rock From the Sun" is great- they are both zany, over the top, and almost trying to best each other all the time…it works. I got hooked on "3rd Rock" while in Korea (lack of options) and that show (thanks in part to Jane Curtin) is now one of my most played DVD sets. But- I NEVER once got to see her on SNL!! I really feel like I missed out now.

Chestnuts roasted by Muppet Baby @ 01/23/2006 9:57 PM EST

I’m no vegetarian either, but I too have long thought that there’s something very wrong with "fun-shaping" chicken nuggets. You’ve said you’re a dinosaur fan, Matt, so you might know that birds are DESCENDED from the dinosaurs. What would they have thought if they could know that some wimpy mammals millions of years later would be butchering their descendants and shaping their flesh into crude images of themselves? Good thing there aren’t any dinosaur ghosts, eh? (Or are there?) :O That would be a good kiddie movie or cartoon show; ghosts+dinosaurs=you can’t freakin’ miss.

Chestnuts roasted by Andrew @ 01/23/2006 10:13 PM EST

So…anyone else see Strongbad in that Spider-Man pop?

Chestnuts roasted by ZB @ 01/23/2006 10:36 PM EST

my heart stopped for a second when i thought things were shutting down too. that would NOT be cool, so dont even think about it, kid.

there is a McCain plant where i live. those smiles things are awesome. not because they make them here. makes me want them less when i think about who may have touched them before they hit the bag. i’ve had them deep-fried at a bar around here. way better. they’re like sugary mashed potatoes inside. anyhoo…enough about smiles.

you can get choco taco things here too. at "taco john’s." not taco bell, taco JOHN’S. not even taco JUAN’s. taco john’s. that place is nasty dirty too. all the employees look like they’re out on huber. not to offend any of you who may be in prison.

Chestnuts roasted by schroeder @ 01/23/2006 10:37 PM EST

oh, and i forgot…if you need a good laugh, and want to go to hell, check out the Jesus photoshop on fark.

Chestnuts roasted by schroeder @ 01/23/2006 10:39 PM EST

Funny you should mention Dino-ghosts Andrew…

When I was a kid I could’ve sworn I saw a big transparent T-Rex in my backyard. It roared at me and then disappreared.

Also, I’m currently writing a movie (though not a kid’s movie) about a dinosaur on a quest during the time period after the meteor hit. And, one sequence is about him encountering the ghosts of dinosaurs that died horribly when the meteor hit.

Anyway, about SNL I hate Dennis Miller (he’s REALLY obnoxious), and would have to go with Kevin Nealon as my favourite. And, I only watch early 90s or classic 70s episodes.

Also, I see plenty of Choco Tacos at my local Taco-Bell.

Oh, and squee, as one "romantic-softy" to another, I highly recommend Code: Lyoko. ^_^

Chestnuts roasted by Tetsu Deinonychus @ 01/23/2006 10:54 PM EST

I would be so psyched about Darkwing Duck coming to DVD if I hadn’t caught a few eps on Toon Disney that completely belied my tweenie memories. Maybe I caught a bad couple of reruns because I ADORED the show as a kid.
I wish they’d made a Roger Rabbit toon…we had to make due with Bonkers, which was a sad substitute, if better than nothing.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 01/23/2006 11:08 PM EST

Thanks for the reco, Tetsu! My phone doesn’t have the character so usually I can’t sport animoticons here in the blog but thanks to the wonders of cut and paste: ^_~
I’m really interested in hearing more about this movie if you wish to share. Film school? Script writing software? Stop motion, 2D or CGI dinos?
How many other bloggers/aspiring filmmakers do we have here in the blog?

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 01/23/2006 11:35 PM EST

Heeeyy… just because I have no life or girlfriend doesn’t mean I’m lame. *sniff*

Chestnuts roasted by Mystie @ 01/24/2006 1:35 AM EST

How they make those smiley fries was on unwrapped tonight. And those lavender chips are funky in a bad way, I hope to see them this easter!!

Chestnuts roasted by Goob @ 01/24/2006 3:32 AM EST

I was waiting for freaky fries to end their Jimmy Neutron promotion because the art style of that show murders my appetite. Alas, that day never came hitherto…

Chestnuts roasted by RewolfJ @ 01/24/2006 5:37 AM EST

Matt, whatever happened to the old expired food you gave away as prizes?

Perhaps you could do that with this selection.

Over here in Germany at the Commissary they still have old ass Kid Cuisines…should I be worried I feed my children these?

Semper Fi,
Erik Majorwitz

Chestnuts roasted by Erik Majorwitz @ 01/24/2006 8:28 AM EST

Allison, thank you for caring, I’m fine now. But I did celebrate by watching a few of my favorite Futurama episodes last nite (Roswell that ends well, the Sting, etc.)

Matt please don’t ever put the word "Farewell" in your articles, my poor frazzled nerves can’t take it.

Chestnuts roasted by ANdrew @ 01/24/2006 9:02 AM EST

hey matt if you are going to throw out the powerade bottle i will buy it off you say 20 plus shipping email me back at jordinjATgmail.com

Chestnuts roasted by jordin J @ 01/24/2006 9:23 AM EST

Ok, this has nothing to do with anthing, but I must bring it up. If you scroll way up through all the comments, you’ll notice that mtrox typed "by the by" instead of by the way. What in the hell is it that makes people do this?

Seriously, it’s creepy. This isn’t just some ordinary typo thing, there’s a stronger force behind it. I notice it everywhere. Something in our brains makes us want to type an extra ‘by’ instead of ‘way’ and I just want to tell whatever it is to go to hell.

That’s all… for now.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt(#2?) @ 01/24/2006 9:51 AM EST

Allison:

I guess you missed the family guy episode where they actually had the "opposites attract" video. Except, it featured Peter wearing whiskers, cat ears and a cat tail.

"I take 2 steps forward, I take 2 steps back.
We come together
Beacuse I’m dressed like
A cat"

IF the 2 Darths are going to fight it out in SSBM, you should set the items drops to only Pokeballs, and high drop rates. Pokeballs and Lightsabers….hmmmm….

Chestnuts roasted by Galvatron @ 01/24/2006 10:38 AM EST

After readong about those "fun-shaped" nuggets again I have to agree it’s rather disrespecfull to chop up chickens into dinosaur shapes. I’ll never look at a chicken the same way again. And chicken is the only meat I really like…

Chestnuts roasted by Adrastia @ 01/24/2006 10:40 AM EST

Darth Poop meets Darth Pong–I smell a duel. These two shall meet on the Brimstar stage of "Super Smash Bros. Melee" (for those of you who’ve never played, Brimstar is the Metroid stage, but you already knew that), and I guarantee there will be plenty of "In the Fray" and " Half-Minute Man" scoring to be seen. Ok, I play that game too much. Next…

IF the 2 Darths are going to fight it out in SSBM, you should set the items drops to only Pokeballs, and high drop rates. Pokeballs and Lightsabers….hmmmm….

I suggest these plus using the Brimstar Depths stage, the one shaped like a beat up asteroid and Kraid rotates it every 30 seconds or so. And do NOT forget the Screw Attack!

It seems that my topic turned out to be incedibly popular. Maybe I’ll up the ante for the next blog

Chestnuts roasted by Invader Norbert @ 01/24/2006 11:33 AM EST

Two Darths, eh? Only two there are…no more…no less. But which one is the master, and which is the apprentice?

Matt(#2?):

It wasn’t a typo as much as I always thought it was a seperate phrase. It means the same thing, but because it doesn’t make sense, it tickles me. A quick Googling shows that I DID spell it wrong, by the bye. The correct spelling is "by the bye", not "by the by."

Chestnuts roasted by mtrox @ 01/24/2006 11:37 AM EST

You know, some of my favorite articles on this site are still the old Ebay auctions. The mere fact that one can, with the help of a sufficiently entertaining description, sell a jar of dirt from the back yard for literally tens of dollars says a great deal about the world we live in. For those of you who were similarly impressed, I give you: Disturbing Auctions.

My personal favorite was the "Emotionally Scarring Toys" section, though I do find it hard to top a black velvet painting of an eighteen wheeler with Jesus in the background.

Chestnuts roasted by Jedoc @ 01/24/2006 11:54 AM EST

Well, I’m not in film school (or any kind of school for that matter), and I plan to do this movie in hand drawn animation possibly with CGI opening and flashbacks.
The script is right now being planned out in my head and will eventually be either typed in word or simply handwritten in my notebook.

Anyway, the story centers around a young Deinonychus named Sabrewing. Sabrewing is your typical loner with a chip on his shoulder. This is because he lived alone his entire life except for his best-friend and (love-interest) a female Deinonychus named Michiko.

Sabrewing and Michiko are among the few survivors of the big meteorite that hit and, like the other survivors, spend all their time trying to survive in the hostle barren world that came to be when it hit.

Eventually, Sabrewing gets a message from the Goddess of time telling him that he is to save the saurian races by seeking the one called "the Rider"(an alien being that litterally rode the meteor to Earth so he can bestow "the Mark" on one of it’s lifeforms). After some nagging from Michiko, Sabrewing goes on his mission to the place the meteor hit where the Rider is suppossedly waiting for him.

Along the way, they meet up with Daigame the Ankylosaurus, and Sai the Triceretops, who join them on the quest. And, our heroes encounter other survivors (both good and bad), more gods, and yes the ghosts I mentioned earlier (which inhabit a forest of dead trees).

So, What’cha think?

Chestnuts roasted by Tetsu Deinonychus @ 01/24/2006 12:09 PM EST

I like that website, but I don’t know what use I would have for a can with 200 pork chops inside. I’ll just get one at the supermarket.

Chestnuts roasted by mjf7583 @ 01/24/2006 12:09 PM EST

I thought Andrew was going to have a heart attack over there. Screaming holy shit and all. Hi Andrew, you relaxed now?

Muppet Baby–fast fact for ya–Jane Curtin declined to participate in last year’s "Live From New York: The First 5 Years of Saturday Night Live" b/c she doesn’t like to discuss her years on SNL. Well, jeez, Jane, the show made you pretty much what you are, and biting off the hand that feeds you, well, that’s just plain wrong.

But, hey, to each his own. Dennis Miller and Jan Hooks were not in "Saturday Night Live in the 80s: Lost and Found." Sad, really. They were fairly important parts of SNL’s revival in 1986-1990, yet neither one was featured. It’s not like either one is horribly busy to begin with, but hey, things happen, I guess.

The last one I expected to participate was Nora Dunn–she only BOYCOTTED the show and got her ass booted out. She was pretty funny at times–can e when the right part comes along. then, I saw her in that Amber Frey movie where she played Gloria Allred. Seems like her kind of part, huh?

Hey Tetsu, I like Kevin Nealon too. He’s ranking at #3 on my list–he seems so nice, that if he was insulting someone, they probably would be laughing to hard to notice. I remember Jon Lovitz and Dennis Miller discussing in an interview on Miller’s HBO show about how Nealon had this joke where he would walk around with a small pillow, and say "Oh, did you drop something, here let me help you!" and drop the pillow and and pretend to look up skirts. Or something like that. It was funnier when they talked about it.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/24/2006 12:10 PM EST

Odder?
Otter.

Chestnuts roasted by FangsFirst @ 01/24/2006 12:15 PM EST

To have a proper "X-E Poster Child Melee (Sith-y Boy Slap Party Edition)", not only do you need proper settings, but also some appropriate items to stash in the Pokeballs. Hulk Hands, all those twist-ties that secured Unicron in his box, the mysterious brown goo from that ice cream machine in that sucky game room, and a flock of Mare Winninghams (Mares Winningham? Mare Winnings-ham? What is the right term for a bunch of ‘em?). And as a final suggestion, great background music. Click my name for a contender.

In order, my faves are Chevy, Dennis, Kevin, and Brad. You forgot about Brad Hall, didn’t you?

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 01/24/2006 12:20 PM EST

since someone brought up SSBM, has anyone ever played with the Debug Menu?

Chestnuts roasted by dohopoki @ 01/24/2006 12:48 PM EST

Matt, you just about gave me a heart attack. I saw "Freezer Farewell" on the main page, and then you started the article with all that stuff about how long you’ve been doing X-E. I’ve been reading this site off and on for the last five years, and I gotta tell you I’d miss it if you quit. What else am I supposed to do when I should be doing something productive? Who else is doing Transformer/ GI Joe/ Thundercats/ Star Wars tribute articles that make me laugh? Most of the stuff I see just makes me feel sorry for the lame authors with no life or girlfriend, and with no prospects for either.

If you ever DO decide to quit, warn us in advance so all your regular readers can enter a suicide pact. We mindless followers couldn’t take being abandoned by our fearless leader. Yes, I said fearless. Some of the crap you put in your mouth for the articles would make me want to cower in terror.

Chestnuts roasted by spaz307 @ 01/24/2006 12:52 PM EST

McCains Smiles are an official staple food for British University students…we currently have 4 bags in our freezer in our flat. Awesome snack after a night out! Long live Smiles!

Chestnuts roasted by Chester @ 01/24/2006 1:26 PM EST

My grandfather lives on a farm in Idaho and for some reason has 5 large freezers. Most everything in them is atleast two years old. Packaged meat, freezer burned vegetables, tv dinners to name a few. While staying with him one summer we decided to see what the oldest thing he had in his freezers was. After searching the five we came up with a 1987 roll of pillsbury bisuits that had been in the freezer so long the aluminun on either ends was badly corroded. We laughed and put it back satisfied we had found the oldest thing in the freezer. A week later when my sister was looking in the shed when she found another freezer! This one was a long freezer you always see serial killers put bodies in. When we opened it up we saw the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. The entire Freezer was filled with old tv dinners. Most of them were adult tv dinners but a good 10 of them were kid cuisines from the late eighties. The deeper we dug the older they got until we hit the mother load three tv dinners from 1971 by a company that probably hasn’t existed in twenty years. We put them all back and agreed that they must stay in the freezer for all time.

Chestnuts roasted by Homosexual Werewolf @ 01/24/2006 2:00 PM EST

To answer the question posed in the article: no, you don’t capitalize the word "french" in french fries. The name was originally "frenched fries", and referred to the cut of the potato, which has been frenched. It’s not a direct reference to the country of France, which makes the Congressional "freedom fries" debacle even more laughably stupid tan it already was, which was a lot.

Chestnuts roasted by Annie @ 01/24/2006 2:04 PM EST

Wait a nano.

I was pretty sure it was short for "french-fried potatoes" since french-frying is another word for deep-frying. Not sure which explanation is right here, but one of these is probably true.

Chestnuts roasted by Tetsu Deinonychus @ 01/24/2006 2:29 PM EST

Norb: As long as it’s not SNL related I say go to town (kidding). I’m always flinging questions out to see if they stick.
I was going to mention that Family Guy bit…so much more inspired and funny than a random Scat Cat name-drop.
Wow Tetsu that sounds amazingly interesting! I’m a bit obsessed with those survivalist type stories, like Mad Max or Jurassic Park or Lost, but yours has dinosaurs! As the goodies! I love it.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 01/24/2006 2:29 PM EST

Thanks Squee. I’m definately going for the "post-apocalyptic" thing, and yet it’s a post-apocalyptic past rather than a future.

Chestnuts roasted by Tetsu Deinonychus @ 01/24/2006 2:33 PM EST

Matt - those WWE pops got me back into the old classic wrestling through the many DVDs out. I went to the Ultimate Warriors website and found he has this special excersice program that actually looks pretty nice, but the frosting on the cake is part of the package is getting a personal 10 minute motivational phone call from the Warrior himself. Sure its 150 bucks but I think the call alone makes it worth it, since I can only imagine how much Hogan or Ric Flair would charge for somethin like that. Its definatly interesting.

Chestnuts roasted by James @ 01/24/2006 2:56 PM EST

I like Tina Fey quite a bit. People have told me I look like her. I think it’s the snarkiness, the glasses, and the hair color. Though my hair’s black now.

squee, I vow my neverending servitude to you now, for I hadn’t heard that Animaniacs was FINALLY coming to DVD until you just said so. I’m off to bounce around insanely till I have it in my hot little hands.

Tetsu Deinonychus, you said "wait a nano"! Is it safe to assume you’re a ReBoot fan? I love that show to pieces. Pieces, I tell you.

Matt, it looks like you worried a lot of people and that you have many people who’d be very, very unhappy if you ever stopped doing this site, myself definitely one of them. So you can never stop. Ever. Or we’ll come find you.

Chestnuts roasted by Nicole @ 01/24/2006 3:44 PM EST

Galvatron, not only did I SEE that Family Guy ep, I have it on TAPE. You wouldn’t believe how hard I was laughing over that one!! Classic stuff. That’s all they need to do–flashback on something that is somewhat nostalgic, and its great stuff.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/24/2006 3:59 PM EST

Oh, and Jedoc, why am I not suprised that you, master of dry humor, linked to that Disturbing Auctions site? Thanks for giving me a fun way to spend the rest of my workday!

Chestnuts roasted by Nicole @ 01/24/2006 4:14 PM EST

If you listen closely, you can hear Nicole bouncing around while saying, "Boingy, boingy, boingy!"
Call for Dr. Scratchansniff!

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 01/24/2006 4:37 PM EST

Jedoc, I like that Cymbal Playing Monkey. Looks like the one in "The Devil’s Gift" segment of "Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders."

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/24/2006 4:54 PM EST

Oh, and the attack puppet is quite disturbing…as is the doggy pen holder…cactus clown…oh hell, Jedoc, it’s all disturbing. My dad wants to know why I look stuff like this up. Gee, I wonder…

But, really, I’m unemployed, so in between searching for jobs and getting one humiliating rejection after another (honestly, if you went for an interview, and a month later, you saw an ad in the paper for the job you interviewed at, wouldn’t you be very disheartened?), I’m reading this site. It makes me feel better.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/24/2006 5:04 PM EST

The letters on your fridge spell "Dinty Chek".

Chestnuts roasted by Amanda @ 01/24/2006 5:09 PM EST

I love X-Entertainment more than bunnies.

Chestnuts roasted by Mystie @ 01/24/2006 5:15 PM EST

Aren’t chickens or some common animal a ancester of dinos? So chickens would actually sorta make sense. Now if it was dino-shaped fish nuggets, I’d agree.

Anyone remember green kethup? That was gone by the time Freaky Fries came out so no wonder they failed.

James: don’t know if you ever been to wrestlecrap.com but he inducted Warriors exercise tape. It was a Warrior vs. Chyna vs. Richard Simmons in an exercise tape showdown.

Chestnuts roasted by JLAJRC @ 01/24/2006 5:49 PM EST

I always liked fish nuggets–my high school served those cute ones shaped like stars and such. Call me adventurous (or just plain gross–if you went to my high school, you would have called me gross–everyone else did), but they were really tasty.

Ewww, I remember when the original "Scooby-Doo" movie came out, and there was al kinds of multi-colored ketchups flashing their bottles around. Yuckies. Don’t remember blue fries though. Glad I know nothing about them.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/24/2006 6:16 PM EST

Thanks Nicole, I could use some servitude. I mustn’t take full credit though, as it was another blogger who clued me in a few weeks back. I keep quite current on all the trashiest gossip and new developments (I’m not trying to brag, in fact it’s the complete opposite since it’s a nasty nasty habit) but I always hear about the retro eclectic stuff from peeps here on the blog.
Speaking of scuttlebutt, any of my fellow Lost fans hear the rumors about Dom and Evie? OMG cuteness!!!

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 01/24/2006 8:05 PM EST

Yeah Nicole, Reboot totally rocked. Especially when I got to see the "grown-up Enzo" episodes on Toonami.

And Alison, I know JUST what you’re talking about with the job hunt. Sites like this one, I-Mockery, and the Scary-Crayon are keeping my sane until I can get a job to finance my indie-comics and indie film. And, so far, NOBODY wants to hire me.

Oh and how do you do bold text and links in this blog?

Chestnuts roasted by Tetsu Deinonychus @ 01/24/2006 8:50 PM EST

Tetsu–thank you for feeling my pain. I do a Yahoo local search for Philadelphia-area advertising agencies, and any one that has a website and an email address, I just email my resume. That’s how I landed an interview 2 weeks ago in Philly–I sent my resume to an info email address…5 months ago, and they contacted me!

See folks, it can happen. Though I still don’t buy that "we’ll keep your resume on file for 6 months crap." I’m convinced most companies will burn it (or shred it) and laugh maniacally.

That’s the story of it, that’s the glory of it…job hunting! LOL–I ripped that one off from the "Cranium" board game commercial.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/24/2006 9:04 PM EST

Popsicle Stick Wolverine and Popsicle Stick Spiderman visit the Hostel.

Miller, Nealon, Fey & Poehler

Dennis Miller made eye contact with me when I went to the taping of his show on HBO. It was right after he told a joke, and I was laughing. It made me feel really special after having been a fan of his for a long time.

I have Kevin Nealon’s autograph from writing to him.

Speaking of saving foods of yesteryear… they have stopped production of Vanilla Coke, so stock up on your future ebay sales now.

Chestnuts roasted by Darth Muppet @ 01/24/2006 9:22 PM EST

Which joke was it, Darth Muppet? I have "All In" on tape (a great special). I’ll have to watch it again.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/24/2006 9:25 PM EST

First, obviously, Matt you rock, keep it up, we love it. I hardly ever write in on the blog, but I have been with this site since I started college in 2000. With Matt running about the same age I am, it really amazes me how many similarities that we grew up obsessing with. The reason I wrote in is that Target now has Jones Soda Valentine’s Day Love Potion #9. Also, they had some copies of Mac and Me on DVD.

Chestnuts roasted by Fox @ 01/24/2006 9:37 PM EST

3 Darths now? NOOOOOOOO!

Chestnuts roasted by Darth Poop @ 01/24/2006 9:42 PM EST

MAC & ME? That movie actually WAS a commercial for Coke and McDonald’s…paid for in part by Coca-Cola and McDonald’s! (the aliens need Coke to live and they go to a birthday party at McD’s) I remember being so disillusioned when I found this out…I used to love that movie as a kid.

Still waiting for a Matt review of that one…:)

Right now the "Captain Planet" theme song popped up on my shuffled Winamp. Nice.

Allison- That "All-In" special has intrigued me, now that I am officially addicted to poker (and losing $$$ every weekend!) Is it a movie? stand up routine?

Ever have one of those days where XE is the absolute best part of your day…?

Chestnuts roasted by Muppet Baby @ 01/24/2006 9:50 PM EST

And…Darth MUPPET? Oh no, now this battle is affecting ME personally…

Chestnuts roasted by Muppet Baby @ 01/24/2006 9:51 PM EST

YAY! BATTLE TIME!!!

::begins building a fort of Pillow People::

Chestnuts roasted by Darth Mystie @ 01/24/2006 9:57 PM EST

Muppet Baby I hear ya. Sad as it sounds. When I first found this site I spent a few days too many at work laughing over old articles written years ago.

Chestnuts roasted by Darth kb? @ 01/24/2006 10:10 PM EST

Wow… Pillow people. I’m secure enough in my masculinity to admit that until I got married I slept with Thunderclap in my bed.

Hmm… I need some cool Space-type apellation to get into the fray with. Let’s see… Samus Aran was a chick… Anything with ‘Captain’ probably makes me gay… Hmm…

I’ll get back to, well, me.

Chestnuts roasted by Rhino (cool prefix/suffix TBD) @ 01/24/2006 10:13 PM EST

Actually, JLAJRC, it’s the other way around; dinos were ancestors of chickens, as I stated above. BTW, I’m fine, no heart attack, just a bit shaken up by where my mind can go (wishes this board had a "whew" face).

I actually didn’t think Matt was leaving us when I saw the title of this article; actually when I saw those Smiles fries I thought he was saying "farewell" to his last leftover Christmas junk. I thought those Smiles were gingerbread men, since I’ve never seen anything like those before!

Speaking of old food, we once found a package of lasagna shells from 1986 in our pantry back in about 1997. So it wouldn’t have been as wild a find as if we’d found them yesterday, but still an interesting story. But it gets better-in 1988 we moved to California, so we would’ve brought along those two-year-old shells like they were just another piece of furniture! That doesn’t quite beat keeping around TV dinners from when The Brady Bunch was still running, but IMHO it comes pretty close. At least Matt’s bothering to check his freezer first.

Chestnuts roasted by Andrew @ 01/24/2006 10:15 PM EST

On a similar note which I should’ve added above, around the same time, we found an original copy of the We Are the World charity album (on vinyl), still in its wrapping! My mom says we must have bought it for one of my cousins’ birthday, since he really liked Michael Jackson at the time, but she must have forgotten to give it to him. So it too was trucked cross-country along with the other, more-played record albums, and didn’t see the light of day for 12 years. Jeez, how much do you think that would’ve gone for on eBay today-still in the original wrapping?

Now that I think about it, I think the only reason we found that stuff might have been because we were getting ready to move into our current house, so we were cleaning out the old one; deciding what stuff to keep and what to throw away. Perhaps all that good stuff might still be hidden away in our pantry and album cabinet if we hadn’t moved. Scary thought, huh?

Chestnuts roasted by Andrew @ 01/24/2006 10:26 PM EST

You know, I may have mentioned this when they appeared the first time, but for a good portion of my senior year, those smiley-face fries were part of the cafeteria menu. Pretty good, really.

And Choco Tacos are the best ice-cream product since someone thought to freeze milk.

Chestnuts roasted by Timmy @ 01/24/2006 10:30 PM EST

I was TOTALLY surprised to find out "Mac and Me" came out on DVD. That’s like seeing someone’s home movies on DVD at target. I’d have actually been less surprised to see "Mitch’s 6th Birthday" on DVD at target than Mac and Me.

Since, if Mac and Me can come out on DVD ANYTHING can. I’m wondering if Jaleel White’s "Don’t Diss My Heart", and "Alien’s For Breakfast" (starring Ben Savage) are future DVD releases. Does anyone know where I can find that out?

Oh and YES finally SOMEONE remembers Pillow-People! Boy does THAT ever take me back. After a search here on X-E yielded no results, I had given up hope that anyone but me remembers those.

Chestnuts roasted by Tetsu Deinonychus @ 01/24/2006 10:34 PM EST

Halloween!! So awesome to see it mentioned in an article this early in the year. Those go-gurts got me really pumped to listen to monster mash and thriller. And yeah, karen, it’s house-shaped. But im blown away that they would give kids 8 pieces of chocolate and icing as dessert! The other meals had 4-6 pieces of whatever, but i imagine 8 pieces of chocolate and icing would have a kid frigg’n WIRED in less than a minute. P.S. those smiley fries are really cute

Chestnuts roasted by Eddie Lightning Frog @ 01/24/2006 10:57 PM EST

Can someone tell me if the Matrix-branded Powerade was green in colour? NZ recently started selling green Powerade as part of their Super 14 rugby league promotion.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt (NZ) @ 01/24/2006 11:15 PM EST

PILLOW PEOPLE!! That’s so wild, I had honestly forgotten about mine. I had to donate it this year during the move. I had the one with the boxing gloves and the black eye … my sister got the girlie one with yellow yarn braids. Hers looked kinda like the one that DJ had on Full House and I am eternally jealous that I had to be the tomboy of the family.
p.s. squee, LOST FAN!! What’s the rumours???

Chestnuts roasted by Lizzy @ 01/24/2006 11:37 PM EST

(NZ) —- Matrix Powerade is green. I bought tons of it when it was out and was curious myself. Definitly green.

And Pillow People. HA. I recently accuired one that has dog features from the salvation army. What a coincidence. And DJ’s from Full House had a window face… I hate myself for knowing that.

Chestnuts roasted by Mattman @ 01/24/2006 11:51 PM EST

Those same multi-colored little tiles were somewhere in my grandmother’s kitchen. In which kitchen I ate many a toasty golden box of Micro Magic fries. O the memories.

Chestnuts roasted by Jay Nickola @ 01/25/2006 1:12 AM EST

In regards to the chicken nuggets…Burger King still does form their chicken tenders, from time to time, into the inexplicable shapes of stars and lightning bolts. I have no idea what started this or why they continue it.

Chestnuts roasted by Mike @ 01/25/2006 7:15 AM EST

Well, I ended up having to work at the library till midnight, but I’m glad some of my fellow XErs got a kick out of those auctions.

They made a movie out of Aliens for Breakfast? Man, I used to love that book. Giant vegetable-shaped aliens who hate loud noises…classic.

Chestnuts roasted by Jedoc @ 01/25/2006 8:22 AM EST

Wasn’t it some sort of promotion tie in with Small Soldiers? Not that it really explains the shapes but that was the first time I remember them doing it.

Chestnuts roasted by dohopoki @ 01/25/2006 10:53 AM EST

Speaking of saving foods of yesteryear… they have stopped production of Vanilla Coke, so stock up on your future ebay sales now.

I have (not to mention the still-in-production,-thank-Mare Pepsi Vanilla), and now Black Cherry Vanilla Coke is out. I have yet to try it, but I don’t like the look of it, but I’m gonna try it anyway. (Hey, I got both Jones Soda Holiday Packs…which I have yet to even remove the wrappers from. Who wants a Super Bowl Tasting Party??)

On topic with Animaniacs, my KB Toys store recently chanced the mix cd again, and there are at LEAST 6 songs from Animaniacs on it. The most famous song on the CD is their version of The Monkey Song (the rest are either obscure or appeared on the Tapes that they released)

Chestnuts roasted by Invader Norbert @ 01/25/2006 11:24 AM EST

Tried the Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke. It’s okay. Probably won’t add it to the repertoire, but it wasn’t awful.

Chestnuts roasted by mtrox @ 01/25/2006 11:43 AM EST

R.I.P.
Travis Brickley

Chestnuts roasted by The Yeti @ 01/25/2006 12:06 PM EST

I don’t remember Pillow People, but what you describe sounds quite a bit like those WWF and WCW Wrestling Buddies. Pillows shaped like Hogan, Nash, Goldberg, Savage, DDP, Jake Roberts, and Ultimate Warrior. Some of them even talked.

I also got a pillow shaped like Wolverine’s head a few years ago. Haven’t seen it for awhile but it was comfy.

Chestnuts roasted by JLAJRC @ 01/25/2006 12:06 PM EST

I picked up a 12-pack of Black Cherry Vanilla Coke last weekend. I like it. Of course, I liked both Cherry Coke and Vanilla Coke too. I don’t know if it’s "crazy delicious", but I’d recommend it.

Chestnuts roasted by Gozer @ 01/25/2006 12:15 PM EST

Ladies and Gentlemen, today, Live and Direct from the X-E Fighting Pit, a battle to make you sweat your socks off!
Stepping into the pit, the first, the original, the hot kiss at the end of a wet Sith, Daaarrrth Poooooooop!
Next, some new blood. The second Dark Lord to haunt these hallowed halls, he uses the Force to get all the Twix out of the snack machine in the X-E lounge, his battle cry is "Insert Coin. Avoid Missing Ball for High Score!" Boys and girls, heeerrrreeee’s Daaarrrth Pooong!
And finally, number three on the Sith Parade. He’s short, he’s furry, he’s mean, he’s got a hand up his ass and he’s not afraid to use it! Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Daaaarrrth Muuuuuppet!
Two rules for today’s tussle:
Keep it between yourselves, if you so much as use another Poster as a projectile, all three are disqualified!
There are no other rules!
Let me away from here, and GOOO AAAPE!

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash could have been the bailiff for Mentok @ 01/25/2006 12:17 PM EST

Yeah, that’s right, I am now a DLOTS. AND I have a cannon on my arm….

Chestnuts roasted by Darth Galvatron @ 01/25/2006 12:37 PM EST

And those ones like crash test dummies that fell apart with velcro body parts.

Chestnuts roasted by Mattman @ 01/25/2006 12:39 PM EST

Oh yeah Micro-Magic, I forgot about that, that’s why I was a fat kid, plus those figgin kid’s cuisines where always on the top of my lunch menu. Does anyone remember when lunchables first came out? I remember there being this one hungry man sized one that had different sauces in wierd packages. The little one meat one cheese and a few crackers dosen’t hold a candle to the one I remember.

PS: Garbage Pail Kids is out on special edition DVD, probably old news

Chestnuts roasted by Fox @ 01/25/2006 12:49 PM EST

I’m Kevin Nealon, and that’s news to me.

Chestnuts roasted by Kevin Nealon @ 01/25/2006 12:54 PM EST

Oh yeah, they also used to come with an Andies mint.

Chestnuts roasted by Fox @ 01/25/2006 1:08 PM EST

RIP Nice Guy Eddie.

Chestnuts roasted by Pedro @ 01/25/2006 1:13 PM EST

Vote for the above poster and all your wildest dreams will come true! Sweet!

Chestnuts roasted by Napleon Dynamite @ 01/25/2006 1:19 PM EST

Muppet Baby–"All In" was Dennis Miller’s latest HBO comedy special. He’s done quitea few for their network (they cancelled his show in 2002, and obviously they didn’t want to lose his profitability). The reason for the title was b/c he performed it in Las Vegas.

Me? I like going to casinos too, b/c they’re so centrally located to where I live (I live about 30 minutes north of Atlantic City, New Jersey). However, I’m not always that lucky when I gamble.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/25/2006 3:05 PM EST

I used to work w/this one girl who always ate, for example, Lunchables and a whole can of Pringles (not in the same sitting, but she tended to eat both in the same day). And she wondered why her stomach was always hurting. Gee, I wonder why…

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/25/2006 3:08 PM EST

Allison- Thanks, I’ll have to check it out.

My brother got me the special edition of "The Garbage Pail Kids" on DVD for my 24th b-day that just passed, so I know first hand that it exists. However, I have been too scared to watch it…it will be SO BAD to my aged eyes.

Chestnuts roasted by Muppet Baby @ 01/25/2006 3:28 PM EST

I don’t know–I don’t think I could stomach "The Garbage Pail Kids" DVD. Forget my poor aged eyes–those poor aged eyes will go blind.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/25/2006 3:37 PM EST

Allison-

It was his HBO show, Dennis Miller Live. It’s the one with Jay Leno where they are talking about TV shows. The joke was during the monologue. Sadly, I don’t remember what the joke was. If I watched the show again, I could probably tell you.

Chestnuts roasted by Darth Muppet @ 01/25/2006 4:54 PM EST

I saw the Garbage Pail Kids for the first time on one of the Showtime channels awhile ago. I found it fun but in a cheesy way. They also had Mac & Me but I didn’t catch it.

I watched the Dennis Miller special and it was pretty good. Certainly better than the load of angry, depressing crap George Carlin gave us in his last special (and he’s my favorite comedian). Robert Klein’s special was pretty good too if you can catch it.

Chestnuts roasted by JLAJRC @ 01/25/2006 5:22 PM EST

I wish I had more of Miller’s HBO show on tape. I moronically threw out my tape w/the "Millenium Special" on it. That was a really funny and creative special. I wish HBO would put his show out on DVD. I’d get it in a sec. Just the fact that you saw DML in person is just completely cool.

If I lived in California, and was a little further along in my college career at the time (in the summer of 2002, I was between my freshman and sophomore years of college) I would have tried to obtain an internship at his show–that would have been the GREATEST experience. Not to say my internship at CBS-3 in Philly wasn’t the greatest experience, but still…nothing beats interning on a TV show you like.

I aspired to intern at SNL, but found out they treat interns like slaves. Of course, if Dana Carvey told me to get him coffee, I would have in a second!!

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/25/2006 5:24 PM EST

I saw George Carlin in person at Caesars in December, and he stayed on stage for 45 minutes b/c his voice was going. thank goodness for opening acts–that was the WORST show I went to last year.

Dennis Miller was @ the Borgata last April, and his show was excellent. I like when he gets going–shouting and such.

The BEST show I saw last year was Howie Mandel. He was loads of fun, and was talking and taking pics with audience members. We had to watch this horribly funny video of a guy singing off-key on a variety show. The song is guaranteed to get stuck your head for days after…I saw him 2 months ago, and I’m still singing that song.

I also saw Jay Leno and Richard Jeni last year, and they were really good too. My boyfriend and I were so disappointed with Carlin though–we were so excited–the opening left us in complete awe, b/c he was like a machine gun firing out his "Modern Man" monologue.

If Howie Mandel is performing local to any of you, definitely try and get tickets (and if you can afford it, attempt to get within the first few rows–it allows for an incredible experience, and lots of interaction).

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/25/2006 5:30 PM EST

Carlin, I’ve never seen live, but I did write him for an autograph, and got a reply for that one. (He was snubbed by Danny Kaye (his idol) for an autograph once, and vowed he would always grant that request.)

I saw Richard Jeni in concert at the fair in CA. He was my favorite comedian at the time, so I was happy to catch him.

Howie Mandel I saw years ago. Before the Bobby cartoon, but he did was doing Bobby back then. It was shortly after Little Monsters had come out.

If I had been smarter about what I wanted to do with my life when I was in CA I would have tried to intern for Dennis Miller, too. Or, the Henson company.

Chestnuts roasted by Darth Muppet @ 01/25/2006 5:49 PM EST

Oh yeah, was also at a taping of Seinfeld for two of the comedy club bits at the beginning of the show… but they moved me out of the shot. My friend made it in though. I still see those shows and can point her out.

Chestnuts roasted by Darth Muppet @ 01/25/2006 5:56 PM EST

I went grocery shopping today and saw some of those smiley fries. I almost bought a bag of them, and now I kinda wish I had. So yeah, they’re still making them.

And like Matt, I’m not a vegeterian, but I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who thinks it’s wrong to cut dead bird flesh into "fun" shapes.

Chestnuts roasted by Astro Zombie @ 01/25/2006 6:15 PM EST

I also saw Carlin live in 1998 I believe. He did the same jokes he did on his special that year and was HILARIOUS. I was SO disappointed this year with him.

Chestnuts roasted by JLAJRC @ 01/25/2006 6:21 PM EST

I figured out who sang the torture song on the looped video at Howie Mandel’s show–it was…Lawrence Welk! A formidable foe to all youngesters EVERYWHERE!! The video had him singing "Oh Happy Day" in a yellow three-piece suit. Oh my god, no one caught on right away that the video was looped–it went on for ten minutes (after about 4 minutes, there was a sing-along going on).

Here’s the catch–Howie was watching on a monitor the whole time, laughing at the reactions the audience had. the song continued for ten minutes, the stopped, and evryone cheered…until the tape rewound itself. You should have heard the "NOOOOOOOOOO!" in the audience!!!

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/25/2006 6:49 PM EST

Hey gang–try and get ur hands on some "DiC" videos or DVDs–apparently, they are still using the infamous "Kid in Bed" logo (honestly, how dated does the video of this kid look–he’s probably in his twenties now), BUT, they are showing a different DiC logo–it’s now "The Wonderful World of DiC." Hey, I’ just the messanger–maybe they’ve changed this since, but supposedly they started using it again in 2003. I hope they changed that choppy zoom out, but since they may very likely be using the 1987 logo, I bet it’s that choppy zoom out.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 01/25/2006 7:38 PM EST

while reading about your freezer cleanup, I clicked on the link that led me to your article on Easy Video. It struck me silly, as I work at a mom and pop video store myself, only a little more rundown, and probably packed with more obscure titles. The store’s in Massachusetts, not out of your way if you come by Salem any time soon.

Chestnuts roasted by Mark Attack @ 01/25/2006 10:47 PM EST

So seriously, check this out. This was the mascot for Sega Saturn in Japan. If he doesn’t kick any and all video game mascots ass, I don’t know who will.
Go here and watch the commercial. Then type Segata Sanshiro in the search engine and be amazed by the most amazing mascot ever.

Segata Sanshiro! Greatest Sega Mascot EVER!!

Chestnuts roasted by Josh @ 01/26/2006 1:29 AM EST

Ya know what?

Half the people here are named Allison.

Chestnuts roasted by Mars @ 01/26/2006 1:30 AM EST

Great article, and all the linking to all the other great articles made this A WHOLE EVENING OF MAGIC.

Do you sometimes eat ass?

Chestnuts roasted by Ktulu @ 01/26/2006 2:07 AM EST

Mystie:

Just out of curiosity, because the Jones site doesn’t say: Is Love Potion #6 like the Thanksgiving packs, or sugar-loaded like the Halloween offerings?

Chestnuts roasted by mtrox @ 01/26/2006 6:21 AM EST

That is to say, is it DIET like the the Thanksgiving packs?

Chestnuts roasted by mtrox @ 01/26/2006 6:21 AM EST

O my dear Lord… I thought everything i knew back in those days were 4gotten! I didnt have 2 much time 2 brws so i mite as well ask… Wen i was in elementary school the most popular game/toy was "Pogs" u had a bunch of round cardboard discs with almost any design u could imagine and one metal or plastic disc called a "Slammer" i still collect those darn things and i only found them 4 sale ONE TIME @ a second hand store. Where can i get more? Please visit my xanga site and let me know. Do u get paid 2 do this!? Need a cute 19 yo. co-worker? Lol! Im serious let me know. I luv 2 write nd i luv useless trivia… What more of a plus? BTW my profile on xanga wasnt updated… Im not engaged ne more. I also want 2 know about these movies… "The Argon Quest" "Scamper The Penguin" "The Blob" "Critters" 1 and 2 "Killer Bees" and last but not least… My personal fave… An old horror movie called "Slugs" a movie about killer slugs! Wat could b more classic!?

Chestnuts roasted by Stacy R. @ 01/26/2006 6:35 AM EST

Stacy–your profile on Xanga is inaccessible, because you did not give your Xanga address.

Chestnuts roasted by mtrox @ 01/26/2006 7:50 AM EST

It’s so very random how the threads twist into such a different thing than how they beagan, not that I mind. . . .

Chestnuts roasted by kb @ 01/26/2006 7:58 AM EST

kb:

Variety is the spice of life. So is paprika.

Chestnuts roasted by mtrox @ 01/26/2006 9:01 AM EST

Twenty-three posts debating the relative merits and shortfalls of various spices, essences, and other flavorings to follow.

Paprika is okay, in limited contexts. However, added to any dish that is supposed to be savory, Lowery’s season salt is like the mighty fist of a vengeful yet delicious God in your mouth.

Chestnuts roasted by Jedoc @ 01/26/2006 9:11 AM EST

here and here

It’s the Super Mario Bros. Super Show Box Set DVD. Just in time for valentines day!

I know it’s off topic, but Matt, I knew you’d get a kick out of this.

Chestnuts roasted by Quiet Thunder @ 01/26/2006 9:37 AM EST

I’m quite fond of Mrs. Dash.

Chestnuts roasted by kb @ 01/26/2006 10:00 AM EST

Is it wrong that Stacy R.’s contention that she loves to write, couched in a post of that quality, made me want to cry?

Just curious.

Also, besides seasoning salt for general use, Lawry’s Chicken Seasoning is the best.

Chestnuts roasted by ZiZak @ 01/26/2006 10:02 AM EST