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01/18/2007: Ninja Turtles & Strawberry Mini-Wheats.

In the previous post, I called “slenderer” the plural of “slender.” This is incorrect. I’m not even sure if a word like “slender” can have a plural in any reasonable fashion, but I may be wrong again. I’ve said my Hail Marys and I hope all is forgiven.

In a previous post but not the previous post, I asked y’all for suggestions on what to trade Red Steel in for, because Red Steel apparently sucks. You had a lot of great suggestions, but upon going to Toys ‘R’ Us with visions of Elebits dancing in my head, I traded the bad game in for a shiny gift card and left not with Elebits, but with lots and lots of toys. Starting with this:


There’s already a full gamut of toys based on the upcoming Ninja Turtles CG flick, including the four green heroes in what I’d call their best action figure translations to date. Really, the new figures are just about perfect. While I dabbled in the resurgent TMNT line based specifically on the resurgent TMNT cartoon, these are much, much nicer. I picked up Raphael to begin a collection that will inevitably end up as desk decor at work, and the picture above says it all. It’s a great mold with or without the connection to the new flick, with around 47,000 points of articulation and a bandana that actually looks like a bandana and not at all like a knob of raw steak glued to the side of a Ninja Turtle’s head.

I really love their chic simplicity. In many ways, seeing the new movie toys reminded me of when the original Turtles toy craze first launched — with four totally basic, soft-headed Turtle figures that came with 27 brownish plastic weapons. Like those figures, the new set relies less on any specific gimmicky action feature and more on the idea that these are great toys to let imagination-through-hands run wild. It’s a shame that I’m too old and fogyish to utilize Raphael as anything more than a decorative statue, but kids who end up with these figures are in for countless afternoons of adventure by their own dictation.

Not all of the new TMNT movie toys follow Raphael’s holy pattern of simple awesomeness, but the best ones do. And they’re only $6.99! That’s not much more than I paid for the elusive Metalhead figure back in grade school.


There’s a great commercial for new Strawberry Delight Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal, where a normal, white-frosted anthropomorphic Mini-Wheat mistakes a pink-frosted anthropomorphic Mini-Wheat and starts hitting on him. I am so damn proud of the person who pitched that to Kellogg’s well enough to get an OK. I decided to reward the mystery pitcher’s grand effort by buying a box, and now that I’ve tried it, I hereby proclaim Strawberry Delight Frosted Mini-Wheats as both Cereal of the Month and Cereal With The Longest Name Ever. Shit’s good, son. Real good.

Take a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats, but replace the milk with Strawberry Quik. That’s what this tastes like, and it works much better than that visual dictates. The frosting is far thicker (”thicker” being the plural of “thick”) and more indulgent than the regular whitey version, and my taste buds had to light a cigarette after the experience.

And that’s my story. Turtles and cereal. You know what I should write? Articles. It’s been a while. That’s on the to-do list, assuming I can get past the recent habit of writing articles halfway, hating them and ditching them. In the meantime, check this page for a bunch of older articles that I liked well enough.


Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

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Discussion Thread: 215 comments

One thing that always upset my about the cartoon was that they changed Splinter’s origin. In the comic that the cartoon is based off of, Splinter was never human.

The newer cartoon show corrected this.

And if Muppet Baby’s account is happening across the country right now, I weep for the future,

Ghosted by Invader Norbert @ 01/20/2007 12:34 AM EST


I have a few comments about the new Turtle figures after I’ve had time to play around with them a bit:

The figures look awesome. They look good in action poses and ‘just standing there’ poses. IMO, they are the best looking TMNT figures ever. The articulation is sweet. But you know what? These guys are apparently standing in the wind because their bandanas are blowing (esp. Leo’s) like crazy. But there is a problem. Mikey’s is going the wrong way! Why have three blowing the same way and just one going the other? It wasn’t a big deal until I set them up on my desk in a ‘perched to attack’ pose and two buddies came over and they both noted that Mike was standing in his own weather pattern. But you know why that’s really no big deal? These are the first Turltes that I can actually get to stand…and in different poses. Awesome…

Man do I sound tipsy :P

Ghosted by Shuanfu @ 01/20/2007 12:45 AM EST


Oh, that Mikey…Always having to be the odd one out! :)

Ghosted by Cameron T. @ 01/20/2007 1:30 AM EST


Not calling Muppet Baby a liar but that is something I just have to see to believe and even if I saw it, I’d still be very skeptical that its wide spread to point that we should be alarmed

It’s not that EVERYONE is doing it, but it’s more common than it should be. You’re seeing more and more of it now because the kids that really grew up as the first generation with an internet presence so established as to be taken for granted are starting to enter Junior High and High School. These kids spent just as much time Instant Messaging (likely exponentially more, actually) as they did doing their spelling homework. It creates a paradigm shift and a new set of obstacles, when those writing patterns find their way into places that they just shouldn’t be.

If you want to kid into college and you write “str8!”, it’s not going to happen. And yes, when I was working as a grad assistant and teaching remedial English for students on academic probation, I had a student turn in a paper with words like “str8″ and “l8ter” on it.

Ghosted by Wukong @ 01/20/2007 2:33 AM EST


Back when parts of Nintendo’s official website were written to be entertaining and not just to sell you something, Dan Owsen printed an excessively badly-spelled E-mail he got and remarked that he had a theory that the Internet was going to lead to the complete and utter breakdown of grammar as we know it.

I generally hang out in places where people type full sentences, like here, so I was beginning to think he was wrong. But if Mr. Baby is correct….yikes. Why didn’t we listen to Owsen?

Ghosted by Mars @ 01/20/2007 3:10 AM EST


If you want to kid into college and you write “str8!”, it’s not going to happen. And yes, when I was working as a grad assistant and teaching remedial English for students on academic probation, I had a student turn in a paper with words like “str8″ and “l8ter” on it.

i’m guessing these things aren’t happening in the honors classes.. sadly when i was in high school there was a kid in our theater class who was a senior and they had his english class watching disney movies to do book reports on (sad but true), he easily graduated despite his 6th grade learning level. i think they just wanted to get him out of there.. meanwhile some of my friends were struggling to get out of there from partying too much and missing tests and such, however these were typically honors kids – different standards for different people

i have a cousin the same age as me who to this day cannot properly spell or write. we were brought up through the same education system, albeit in different classes (i was immediately thrown into honors from first grade on). i think some people just have a harder time “getting it”

and you’d be surprised to see some of the dolts they’ll hand a college degree to. when i was in school there were literally some kids taking exams who needed help finding where to put their name on the tests.. i have a friend who has a masters in rehabilitation who is utterly clueless on an academic level. you really have to question the value of a “higher education” these days, the standards are very lax

but while i do believe there’s a time and a place for linguistic standards, i simply do not see the internet as one of them.. certainly not on a site where we’re discussing ninja turtles and breakfast cereal!

Ghosted by cheeky @ 01/20/2007 4:12 AM EST


but while i do believe there’s a time and a place for linguistic standards, i simply do not see the internet as one of them.. certainly not on a site where we’re discussing ninja turtles and breakfast cereal!

With me, it’s really most an aesthetic thing, at least online. I just find it to be jarring to my eyes and difficult to read sometimes. Not the occasionaly ‘lol’ or that type of thing, but when people write “OMG u half 2 no that the partE was gr8!!!”, I pretty much throw in the towel.

Online, I couldn’t care less if people don’t mind their commas, capital letters and apostraphes, but when they start breaking out substitution ciphers to communicate…that’s when I throw in the towel.

Ghosted by Wukong @ 01/20/2007 6:24 AM EST


I always loved the Mini-Wheats commercials where the Cereal was in fact a siamese twin mini-wheat joined at the back. One twin was straight-laced and health conscious, while the other heavily frosted side was the bad-ass rebel who just wanted to rock out 24/7. As if that frosting made eating Shredded Wheat in any way rebellious, normal everyday kids would eat the cereal and end up rocking out for a few seconds only to come back down to Earth in time for another bite. Mini-Wheats commercials have been responsible for airing more bad blue jean outfits on TV than an episode of Blossom. In closing, the cereal is fantastic, and keeps us grown folks (26) regular.

Ghosted by Old E @ 01/20/2007 9:35 AM EST


I am so SNT right now.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 01/20/2007 9:50 AM EST


I SNT every Friday night. I just come here thinking it’s Saturday, which you’d think would stop after a few weeks…

Ghosted by Jessica Marie @ 01/20/2007 1:51 PM EST


Every time I see SNT I think of SNL. Every time I see SNL I think of how much time I have just lost from my life. That is not the case, however, with SNT so this will never come full circle.

Ghosted by Old E @ 01/20/2007 2:29 PM EST


You sure about that? I’m pretty sure I singlehandedly make SNTs pretty vacuous :P

Ghosted by K- @ 01/20/2007 3:54 PM EST


snt + snl – time wasted = showbiz pizza bears

Ghosted by cheeky @ 01/20/2007 3:54 PM EST


Well this one turned into something else didn’t it!??! For the sake of our friendships we all just need to let this one go and move on to happier meadows.

Let’s be SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE HOLDING HANDS! Ick…sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

Happy Saturday all.

Ghosted by Cricket @ 01/20/2007 3:58 PM EST


shiny happy people + biggie smallz – gay = it’s all good! ;)

Ghosted by cheeky @ 01/20/2007 4:00 PM EST


Wait, how can you factor gay out of happy? They’re synonyms.

OH GOD! I walked into the Grammar trap, again!!

And technically that isn’t factoring out, but forget I said that because the last thing we want to do is start arguing about mathematical operations.

not that there’s anything wrong with that :P

Ghosted by K- @ 01/20/2007 4:08 PM EST


Don’t get me started on math. I’ll add you all to my subtract from existence list. Oh I’ll carry the one alright.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 01/20/2007 4:10 PM EST


It’s called “regrouping” now, Doho :P

Oops, I did it again.

Ghosted by K- @ 01/20/2007 4:12 PM EST


Who let Britney in here?

Ghosted by Old E @ 01/20/2007 5:12 PM EST


muppetbaby’s story doesn’t surprise me. When I was a freshman in high school the same thing happened, with kids using “u” and all of that.

Ghosted by lindsay @ 01/20/2007 6:28 PM EST


i think i’m immune to it.. posting on hip hop forums and growing up reading prince lyric sheets you grow a bit accustomed to creative use of the english language

i wasn’t removing gay from the happy, i was removing gay from the shiny! i swear..

Ghosted by cheeky @ 01/20/2007 7:48 PM EST


Indeed, every word of that was truth, although I was exaggerating a little- not every single student in the class wrote like this, although it definately was a majority. This was only in the grade 9 class, though. This was their first year in high school, and I was not going to let them get away with it, even though it was permitted in their junior high school. My grade 10’s were fine, and had dropped the habit. This wasn’t in the States, though- I’m from Canada. This was in Quebec…at the same high school I went to myself.

Happy SNT! Can’t wait to play some Texas Hold ‘Em, drink beer and watch the hockey game. Have a good one, everybody!

Ghosted by Muppet Baby @ 01/20/2007 8:21 PM EST


Wow, just reading over the posts here….all over the place. Is this gonna be the SNT for the night? I am staying in tonight, last night was way long and I’m getting old I guess. Well, if it is YAY for SNT. (and snl is new)

Ghosted by kb @ 01/20/2007 10:09 PM EST


Happy Saturday everybody!

Ghosted by squee4242 @ 01/20/2007 10:19 PM EST


Happy Saturday everybody!
I was the first to read this message. ME.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 01/20/2007 10:20 PM EST


Ahh the never ending hours between Star Trek Remastered and SNL. SNT rules! Woooo. Ok, back to normal fun-having, that is all.

Ghosted by Terror Claws Cole @ 01/20/2007 10:37 PM EST


Happy SNT everyone! KB I feel your pain. I’m in the same boat. I guess I just can’t hang like I used to.
Does anyone know the name of that show from the late 80’s had the Beatles song intro. “Oh blah di” Is it Life Goes On? What do you think Corkey is up to today? It was a Triva question last night.
I found out Atreu works at a tattoo shop and a motorcycle repair shop nowadays. What a career change!

Ghosted by Bill @ 01/20/2007 10:50 PM EST


Yes it was Bill. but the song is Ob-La-Di, not Oh blah di.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 01/20/2007 10:57 PM EST


Sorry, it’s been a while since I had the White album. I am the rare person that likes the pre-drug years.

Ghosted by Bill @ 01/20/2007 11:01 PM EST


I like all of the years. From Please Please Me to Abbey Road (I count them in recording chronology, not release) it’s one big ride of musical history. Though, I am more partial to the later years because George was the real talent in that band.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 01/20/2007 11:45 PM EST


The show was actually called “Life Goes On”

Here’s the info

Let’s get the SNT rolling…anyone have a good topic??

Ghosted by Shuanfu @ 01/20/2007 11:55 PM EST


I prefer Rubber Soul through Abbey Road, with Sgt. Pepper’s and Abbey Road being my favorites.

In My Life is my favorite song of theirs, but when that’s too obvious (read: Emo) I go with Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End :D

Ghosted by K- @ 01/21/2007 12:00 AM EST


Let’s discuss the CG Orville Redenbacher commercial. I was quite freaked out. It’s like watching a corpse dangling about on puppet strings.

Ghosted by Mystie @ 01/21/2007 12:01 AM EST


The survey will therefore be: who else shall we resurrect?

Ghosted by K- @ 01/21/2007 12:07 AM EST


I will not sleep tonight for fear that Orville Redenbacher’s zombie might steal my DS, thanks Mystie.

And just to throw it out there while we were on the subject, The take of Something that appears on the second disk of the Beatle’s anthology is pretty much the best thing to ever happen in the history of everything. That’s if your into raw sound. If your into produced stuff, A Day in the Life is probably the best Beatles song.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 01/21/2007 12:16 AM EST


Ouch, Second disk fo the anthology 3 and to tie it all in even better, of course let’s ressurect George Harrison.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 01/21/2007 12:16 AM EST


I have what is usually refered to the “Red & Blue” greatest hits albums: double CD’s that cover a certain time period during the Beatles career…if I recall correctly (thery’re in the other room) Red is the early years, Blue is the later years. They pretty much have every major hit and tons of other songs one them….that is the extent of my Beatles collection, so I don’t know which album would be my favorite….

That popcorn commercial is scary…it’s hard to watch.

I’m suprised Disney hasn’t resurrected Walt in comercials; especially for their “_______years of _____” promotions they have every few years…

Ghosted by Shuanfu @ 01/21/2007 12:20 AM EST


I’ve been sleeping with the TV on for the past few nights. I think I’m paranoid that ghosts are going to come get me. Somehow I feel the TV will ward them off. This is why I don’t watch horror movies. If I did, I would NEVER get to sleep.

Ghosted by Mystie @ 01/21/2007 12:22 AM EST


Well, tonight was my last night at KB Toys, it’ll close tomorrow. Leaving the place was a lot more depressing than I thought it would be, like the last episode of some tv shows, like Mary Tyler Moore.

I’m waiting for the SNL that’s comin on in a few minutes! Jeremy Piven & AFI on tonight.

Ghosted by Invader Norbert @ 01/21/2007 12:29 AM EST


Mystie,
I feel the same way, and living in an old house doesn’t help at all….to make matters even worse, I woke up one night to that new horror film commercial about the little kid ghosts that only kids can see….that terrified me because of past nightmares…

THAT’S what we should talk about: Worse nightmare and/or possible supernaturl experiences…any takers? I’ll come back and share mine if some one else does….

Ghosted by Shuanfu @ 01/21/2007 12:31 AM EST


Oh, before I forget, Barnes and Noble is having a buy one get one free TV show DVD sale with most an additional 40% off through the end of January. I just got The Simpsons season 1-4 for $50!

Ghosted by Bill @ 01/21/2007 12:34 AM EST


Well, Jeremy Piven is already giving us a good show, with a funny monologue.

I posted this on a TWoP forum about the Redenbacher ad, and I said that I hope that the people at KFC & Wendy’s don’t get the same idea.

Ghosted by Invader Norbert @ 01/21/2007 12:47 AM EST


Shuanfu: I took my girlfriend to Savannah GA this past autumn and we had a freaky expirience at the 1790 B&B. I couldn’t belive it but her make up bag was dumped on the floor and all the contents were arranged in a line. The suit case was on the bed with us after I purposely put it infront of the door before we went to bed. The chain was on the door and there was no other way in our room. I told the day manager and she laughed and said that happens all the time. Freaky!

Ghosted by Bill @ 01/21/2007 12:49 AM EST


My worst dream was about me dying in a car crash and my ghost sticking around my house. When the pain was too much for my parents, they moved out so as not to be constantly reminded of me but I couldn’t go with them. So I delusioned my self by making fake models of my parents out of junk that was left behind in the basement and attic. I’d just pretend they were there but not paying enough attention to respond to me. Eventually I convinced myself that I was still alive and it got the point were I didn’t understand why my “parents” wouldn’t talk to me. It was only after a new family moved into the house that I was able to exit the door and see the the area that I died. Then the dream went through my head in reverse all the way up to the point that I died and that’s when I woke up.

Someone ask me about my best dream so I can end this on a good note. I know its not the topic at hand but I hate the story I just told.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 01/21/2007 12:54 AM EST


Shaunfu: I had Red and Blue, but I gave them back to my Dad after I decided to purchase the albums. I highly recommend you do the same. Me and Doho could argue all night over where you should start, so I’ll refrain :P

Mystie: I LOVE your Optimus Prime! But I like Josie and the Pussycats and FF X-2, so no surprise there :D

And if no one has asked yet, by all means What IS your best dream?

Ghosted by K- @ 01/21/2007 1:10 AM EST


I’d call Sgt. Pepper’s their greatest technical achievement, but my other absolute favorites are Rubber Soul and Revolver, followed by, you know, about half the White Album. I have a soft spot for the Anthology as well since they were some of the first Beatles albums I ever got.
Sorry about the store closing, Norbs :(

Ghosted by squee4242 @ 01/21/2007 1:24 AM EST


dohopoki thanks for sharing; it’s the best way sometimes to get over things too; mine just plain creeps me out….

I have two, so here’s the first/best:
When I was about 10 or so, my Dad and I moved to this great house by the river. But not long after I had a nightmare which was basically the simple fact that someone was in the room and watching me. I would have the nightmare every few months and sometimes even go years without having it. Finally, when I was around 15 or 16, I recall having the dream again and had that terrified feeling again. But I sucked it up and (in my dream) sat up quickly and looked across the room. I saw, standing in the corner, what we refer to now as the “Blue Boy”: a young boy (about 10-12 years old) standing there, shivering and soaking wet, wearing a swimsuit and lloking at my with terrified eyes. He had a faint blue color/slash glow to him. I quickly woke up and went to my dad’s room.

In fact, I wouldn’t sleep in my room for awhile alone; I always had a friend stay over, as it was during the summer, or I slept in a different room.

We starting talking about it and a friend at the time was considering becoming a journalist. She took an interest in the story. About two years later she discovered something: At one point a young boy was lost on the river by house and is body was never found. I still get chills when I think about when she told me that.

To add to the mystery, once she told me about the missing boy, I never had the dream again. She says that maybe all he wanted was someone to know what happened to him….

Crazy as it sounds, it’s a true story….that’s why that commercial really creeps me out; that little boy looks kinda like Blue Boy…

Ghosted by Shuanfu @ 01/21/2007 1:30 AM EST


And if no one has asked yet, by all means What IS your best dream?

I’m searching some archives to see if I miss any important details but the jist of it was I found a round door on the inside of my dryer. So when I opened it I found a room with green carpet, slightly furnished and two girls I went to high school with. I hung out with them and for whatever reason, they were able to turn into OTHER girls I went to high school with and so I started making out with them and then letting them change into other girls so that I could make out with them AGAIN. It’s kind of like the lion, the witch and the wardrobe but far cooler.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 01/21/2007 1:51 AM EST


dohopoki, that is the greatest dream I’ve ever heard.

Ghosted by Justin @ 01/21/2007 1:54 AM EST


I’m watching Deep Impact and this movie is so terrible I think it gave me cancer.

Ghosted by Bill @ 01/21/2007 1:54 AM EST


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