I can't believe it's December already, but it is, and that means...X-EMAS! Christmas is my favorite time of year, and I'm really excited to get another X-E holiday season underway. Look up. The very first entry of the 2006 Advent Calendar is now active, kicking off 25 days of Yuletide terror as Mare, Knacks and Kuse protect the world from evil and save Christmas! Or something.
After giving it much thought, I've decided to not do an Advert Calendar along with the Advent this year. I've lucked into a bit more free time than I'm used to coming up in December, and I don't want to get boggled into "updating the what-must-be-updated" when I can use my powers for a greater good. Like, let's say, a December Megaparty. Yes, new blog posts every day in December -- it's the promise I can't keep and the one you'll hate me for breaking! Let's hope for the best. I'm excited you're excited he's excited she's excited and, really, it's fun for folks to share their holiday obsessions on a stage that won't get pelted with tomatoes.
More design tweaks are coming, along with a new and improved Christmas Jukebox with over thirty new songs. Look for the "finished" Christmas design with all the trimmings sometime this weekend.
There was a time when I kind of appreciated the Polly Pocket brand, if for no other reason than being the ultimate sister line to Mighty Max. The idea of a "playset-in-your-pocket," complete with tiny action figures that fit inside, was really original and totally made trips to even the most boring places on the planet palatable. Now Polly's grown up, and she's a big slut with her own theme park who's too tall to fit in any prop compacts.Mattel can't be happy right now, as millions of the newer Polly Pocket toys were recently recalled, because the toys included tiny magnets that kids were eating by the scoop. A problem that broad could be a permanent black eye, and as if making Polly say things like "OFF THE HOOK!!" wasn't going to alienate enough potential customers, surely the fact that kids have magnet fragments attracting in their stomachs will. Maybe she'll trade "OFF THE HOOK!!" for "HI I'M POLLY AND I'M GONNA INUNDATE YOUR STOMACH WITH MAGNETS!!" Fortunately, a new line of Polly Pocket stocking stuffer figures hit shelves before the big bag recall came down.
For those who haven't been introduced to the "new" Polly, now she wears rubber clothes that slip off and on and feel a lot like an inedible Fruit Roll-Up. It's a decent little gimmick, but the clothes don't really fit right, and everything Polly wears looks like Play-Doh.The stocking stuffer sets are around five bucks each. There are a few different figures available (Polly's friends manage to hit every major point of diversity!), each with a different outfit and a cool plastic snowflake-shaped tree ornament.
It's Christmas. All over. AGIN. YAR AGIN.
Posted by Matt on 12/01/2006. E-mail me!
Chestnuts roasted by 
MARE: I don’t think it’s such a bad little tree. It just needs a little love.
KUSE: Yeah, well, so do I. Let’s hop in the box it came in and screw.
YES, that was hysterical.
I’m in Knacks’s Myspace in spirit. I’ve vowed never to make an account at that insipid place, and I’m still sticking to that vow. But let Knacks know I’m there for him as well.
I’ll still feature old Christmas commercials this year, don’t worry. They’ll just be as regular blog entries — and I’ll stick to the better ones.
No more creepy possessed Dearfoams slipper ads? Fine with me.