The X-Entertainment Blog!

07/08/2007: Summer Megaparty: Best TV Night EVER!

In my many years as a television watcher, I don't think I've ever had (or will ever have) a night of television watching as great as last night. Holy damn, this was incredible.

It started with Eye of The Beast, which is some made-for-ppv movie starring James Van Der Beek (Dawson!) as a ocean scientist (their term, not mine) who becomes wrapped up in a small town's struggle with a giant squid. Oh my God, this movie was so, SO great.

Forget the fact that this was a freshwater squid of impossible size — there are far more subtle moments where you'll ask your television set if its shittin' you. After a series of deaths (sometimes we see a squid's tentacle, sometimes nothing at all), Dawson goes online to research ship wreckage. He wants to know if the rings seen on the smashed hull pieces are in fact the suction marks of a giant squid. How does he do this? A GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH. Incredible! Later, his co-workers back at the government-funded research lab spot the silhouette of a giant squid…on a Google Earth map! Dawsome!

The film, which seems to have been built mainly as the holy grailistic centerpiece for movie cliche drinking games, rounds out with a lengthy battle between the film's characters (every single one of them) and the giant squid. The characters are spread across two boats in the very rocky seas, which seems to go against the fact that the squid is murking about a lake. In the closing moments, we finally get a good look at the squid — in fact, it's the only time we see anything other than tentacles after a solid 90 minutes of bullshit. And how is this accomplished? By having the CG squid lift itself out of the water, evidently so it would be an easier target for one of the heroes to throw an electrically-charged harpoon into its eye. You have to see this movie.

Almost immediately after that, I stumbled onto Destination: Infestation, a made-for-television movie that could've been titled "Ants on a Plane." Somehow, this was even worse than watching James Van Der Beek ax the tentacles off of a giant squid. Starring Antonio Sabato Jr. as an anti-terrorist special agent in over his head against a plane full of genetically-enhanced super ants, it's the story of 40 innocent passengers banding together against…ants.

The ants have seemingly been programmed to destroy the plane, which they do by chewing through critical wiring systems and even denting through the fuel reserve. On a few occasions, hordes of ants will invade the main cabin, choose one victim to bite to death, and then disappear completely until the next time they feel like doing that. This was helpful in keeping the film's shoestring budget firmly tied, as they repeat the same exact shot of ants running over wires or climbing through vents no less than 500 times throughout the film.

There's even more to the story. Did I mention that the United States government's decisions come solely from some Frank Langella-esque villain sitting in a dark office? Well, they do, and he commands that the plane not be allowed to land, fearing that these mega-ants will spread disease and death throughout our fine nation. And just to prove that he's serious, the government guy even calls every other country in the world, telling them to shoot down the plane to avoid having serious bug issues of their own. I won't spoil how the pilots and passengers avoid that grisly fate, but it's even more hysterical than seeing people get bit by ants a few times and dying immediately from it.

And to top it all off, a movie/documentary about what would happen if a giant comet hit our planet was on the Discovery Channel. Instead of just giving us the facts, they filmed all of these scenes of little girls looking for lost puppies in 400 degree temperatures, and of homeless people in NYC looting through trash before being washed away by gigantic tidal waves. I love TV!

Also, there's a new article up, covering almost every page from the 1990 premiere issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Magazine. Cowabunga.

Awesome! Hey Matt have you ever seen Orca: The Killer Whale? It's amazing. Sharks screaming, Orca fetuses being launched through the air, crazy Indian guides, and more! Top notch stuff; highly recommended.

I spent the early morning hours watching BBC America. Nothing makes me quite as happy as a British accent, especially at 4 in the morning.

The haircuts in the TMNT magazine have done me in. I remember a boy in my class having an eight ball shaved into the back of his head. LOL He was so gangsta down here in southeast Kentucky.

By the way, I spent my night watching MSNBC specials. They're so addictive, it's incredible. Then I watched Transylvania 6-5000 and Vamp. Good stuff.

I am a big fan of low-budget animal-based action/horror movies. Matt, you have to check out "Raging Sharks" with Corin Nemic (the guy from "Parker Lewis Can't Lose." It is a real treat.

Also, I have seen Orca (actually, I own the DVD), but that one definitely shows its age. I do remember it being my introduction to killer whales as actual killers, though. Those things are serious mofos. Do a little reading about what they've done to certain ice fishers, and you'll never trust Shamu again.

I have a poster of the front cover of that tmnt mag. Matt for an upcoming article could you please somehow showcase all of the crazy shit that you own,collection pics that sort of thing.

Great Article! I never read the TMNT magazine, but I was definitely down with the He-Man mag. And that pizza is really scary…

I've had a bit of a good news/bad news kind of day today. I finally found a Nintendo Wii, at Target. My fiancee bought it for me for my birthday (well sort of, our finances are combined), which is a little over a month away. And I don't get to play with it until then. Talk about torture… It's sitting in the closet, just feet away from where I'm typing this, collecting dust. It's gonna be a long month.

Holy shit summer megaparty and this many new articles? How are you going to handle the halloween countdown?!

I watched that discovery channel show about the comet. It kind of freaked me out.

dude, I was sooo looking forward to the lobsterdude, major bummer. But it was great having a look at that magazine, we never got that here in europe

How did it all end?!?! did the plane land in the the lake waters where the giant squid lived and then the squid ate the plane killing all the killer ants and thusly killing the giant squid in return!? movie MAGIC

And here I was thinking that I was lucky when the local CW station ran the first Pokémon movie at midnight last week.

Matt, I have that magazine at home (I'm at college for the summer) and could scan in the Lobsterdude stuff when I get home in like 4 weeks. There's no guarantee that I'll remember to do it though.

I remember that magazine fondly and got it for a few years. My copies are beat up nowadays and I went through them again like 3 years ago. It's still a good size stack.

Didn't Ray Filet have something to do with that Lobsterdude story or am I thinking of another issue?

Last night I watched "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Assume the Position with Robert Wuhl" on HBO. Both were good.

I've actually made fruit pizzas before and they're really good. You can either bake regular pizza crust or a giant sugar cookie, spread it with cream cheese mixed with some vanilla, and put your favorite fruit on it. Or you can buy those fruit dessert pizzas at places like Papa Johns or Murphys.

They still like magazines like this, although they're usually sci-fi related in some way (Buffy, Dr. Who, Farscape, etc.)

You have pulled my heart-strings. You have no idea how many of my favourite childhood memories are tied to that ridiculous TMNT magazine.

I also read the Power Ranger and Garfield versions but they just weren't the same.

Heck yes! Great new article. I never read this one, but it does remind me of my childhood. I always liked the design of things like this from the 90s.

After reading the article, I noticed that the links to the skateboarding pages seem to be broken and take you back to the homepage. You should get on that, Matt. The Turtles deserve it. >_>

1. Those letters are fake. Especially the one on the top right. The one about mountain-biking and the "strenuous life" is pretty bad too.
2. The pop culture section is out of control! I too was unfamiliar with the term "cut-out". Now the most interesting part is the "the look started with black teens blah blah". Were they trying to make it look cool because black kids were doing it?
3. Also, what's the deal with the thaw in the Cold War segment? I know all my friends and I sat around with action figures in hand discussing the geo-political and economic implications of the fall of the Soviet empire.

I will give it props for being the only magazine based on comic based, turned into a cartoon, created to hype up a live-action movie about ninja turtles to mention glasnost.
4. Cereal parts are "Ninja nets"? Nice try.

Not sure if I have told this story on here or or not, (Kneg) but I wrote into the paper defending the violence of the TMNT movie and the use of the word "damn" when it came out. Good times

Hhahaaha! Cutout haircuts! My god… I have a friend who has a checkerboard pattern shaved into the sides of his head with a mohawk in the middle. It's rediculous. Then again, my hair is dyed orange and green, so I can't really talk.

How did I know, KNOW as soon as I saw the recipe portion that you were going to prepare it? That said, that thing looks scary and I applaud your bravery in preparing it.

I recall that magazine and buying a later issue in which they included a story section Splinter Tells A Tale. However the one I actually bought features Mikey telling that month's particular moral lesson.

And while we're at it…going to see that film. I was about sevenish when it came out and I remember begging to go for what seemed like forever though it was probably within opening week. My mother was afraid I would have nightmares so I opted to bug my father into it with all the guilt that a child of divorce could spill out.

Long story short, I had no nightmares, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Later on that year my class had a themed Ninja Turtle party day…just for the hell of it in which we did Turtles themed worksheets, read turtles books at storytime and made a cake featuring Donatello. Our poor poor teachers.

I don't recall the Turtles' magazine, but I do fondly remember the movie. The 1990 Turtles movie marked the first time I was so floored by a film I caught it twice; once with my sisters, and a few weeks later with one of my then-best girlfriends and her brothers on her birthday, both times at a now-defunct movie theater in Rio Grande. (In fact, I don't think I'd catch a movie more than once during it's theatrical run again until I saw "Galaxy Quest" twice in college.)

As for me, I got out of work early today and spent most of the afternoon nursing a sprained knee (slipped and fell down my steps during those huge rainstorms we had earlier this week) and cheering myself up with "Monkees" episodes. (The DVD sets are pricy but so worth it if you're a fan.)

That Olympic page brought back many memories. I don't know if I ever sold anything, but I would look at the cheesy telephones and dream of the day I'd have one in my bedroom.
And I missed last nights party. What I would bring: Luna Bars, Water, a 9mm, a stack of supermarket tabloids, cellphone, a bar of soap. And I'd hope there was a tv in the room.

Obviously the fifty year old divorcee that wrote "Notes from the Underground" hated Leonardo: he didn't even get a mention. And somehow I doubt that they read all the letters, pure BS.

Fruited Mutant Pizza, Hawaii Burger…man Matt, what disgusting pile of tastiness are you going to make next?

The 'Alice Cooper music video' link just links back to the same page. The article's great though. I will always get it. I eat pizza whenever I can.

Alright, maybe I'm late to the party on this (I've been out of town and haven't read the blog the last few days), but I saw Transformers last night and it was awesome. Now, bear in mind, the only expectation I had coming into this film was that I would see giant robots beat the crap out of each other.

I never remember watching the show growing up, and I only remember having 3 Transformers toys (A little one that transformed into a cassette, a small purple jet, and a helicopter that transformed into robot mode AND an F1 car). Long story short, I went out today and bought the Bumblebee Deluxe figure (10 BUCKS for an action figure??? Sheesh!). I want Optimus Prime but can't spend that much money…Not to mention the fact that I can't find it ANYWHERE)…

It's an absolute tradgedy that Lobsterdude and his times were destroyed by the killah coffee. But I'm sure that's as great a disappointment for me as for you, especially since it seemed like you've owned that magazine since your childhood; that you bought it when it was new. I still have a gaggle of magazines of that sort, but they were all about anime, chiefly Pokemon. I read the fool out of them, and they're now all tattered and brittle.

Yes, Cameron, I have. I have Optimus, and it is imperative to your survival that you find him and the means to finance him. I'm going to assume that you really like Bumblebee, because I think that figure is horribly constructed. Others think Jazz is, so this all equals out

I think it is only natural to want to buy the toys. I'd like to get Ironhide, but I'm buying a DS game instead. I'd actually like the Ultimate Bumblebee, but $90 is a mite steep. They're supposed to release a Deluxe class version of his 08 Concept Car form, so I'll pick that up.

I'm really feeling old - (hence the name!

)
I was never into the TMNT, seeing how I was in college when they became popular, and thus out of the target demographic, I guess - I was more into the whole "cool, they're making reference to Renaissance artists on TV!" angle.

i saw the comet thing on the discovery channel, and by far the best part was listening to the military guy scream for his dobermans as he got fireballed

So would you say, in theory, that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Magazine is more stimulating than a herring?

Nice viewing…unfortunately, I haven't been able to catch some good tv this weekend thanks to work.

I did, however, catch a mni-marathon of a few of the Pokemon movies on CN yesterday.

I checked out the jukebox again…and maybe it's just me, but the jukebox stops after "Walk Like An Egyptian" and "Rock The Casbah" is on it twice.

Knegative
Yeah, I'm hoping Prime will go on sale in a month or so when I might actually be able to afford him. As for Bumblebee, I guess I gravitate toward him naturally because I know he was originally a VW bug, and I'm a VW nut. But as I said, I had virtually no expectations for the toys or the film, so I thought that the figure was pretty cool. I've been reading some online and it looks like many of the fans share your sentiment about him being pretty crappy…

So I guess I can safely assume that Cliffjumper does not make an appearance in the movie, huh?

I received Cliffjumper as a kid after I had "behaved" during an afternoon out with my mom. Since I kept my mouth shut and didn't cause too much trouble when she was shopping for clothes (the most boring thing ever for a kid) I got a $4 action figure! Yes!

Matt, thanks for the overload of XE goodness lately. I have been pretty bummed out recently, and XE just got really great when I needed it. Thanks.

Anyone ELSE (besides my in-laws, most of my friends and sometimes myself) think I am wasting my life because I have a teaching degree yet I couldn't find any teaching jobs so I am working at a bookstore for FUN and doing a job I LIKE instead of one that pays a lot of $$$$??? *sighs*

I felt the need to buy Transformers after seeing the movie too. Also, our bookstore just got in a 'Transformers Pricing Guide' telling readers how much their old toys are worth.

Off topic but Pop Secret emailed me to let me know that Pop Qwiz was discontinued due to a lack of sales. Another great mystery solved.

You're not wasting your life. I have an English degree and I work in a Music store. My Dad has a Radio/Television/Broadcasting degree, and HE works in a music store (and does computer programming). My Mom has a Music ed degree and SHE works in a music store.

So who cares what your degree is in. As long as you are enjoying what you do for a living (and can actually live off of it), what you have a degree in doesn't matter.

Cameron T- THANK YOU- I appreciate that, and I agree. By the way…does your family own a music store?

Yeah, Muppet Baby, can't put a price on happiness and all that. I absolutely love the shitty internet job I have now, but I could probably get better money and benefits if I had a proper job. But it works for now, and pays for my classes to get a better shitty internet job. Can't beat that.

Actually, we don't.

It's a long story, really, but we all grew up in the Marching band. My parents both work at a store in Lubbock, and I work at a (non-related) store in Waco (both in Texas, btw). The scary part? I'm working at the same place that my Dad worked when he was in Waco. So yeah, I guess you could say it runs in the family!

Knegative
Yeah, and I cringed when the Bug's door got bashed. Then I realized it was a Super Beetle (late 70s bug, generally considered less attractive) and thought "To hell with it"

Kneg, I caved. I am on MySpace now. I did it for Knacks.
*Chief Wiggum voice* May God help us all.

Wow, thanks again Matt for another great article. I had totally forgotten about the old GIJoe magazine as well … I wonder if I have any of those things lying around …

It gives you a flash based desktop you can click around in. If you dig long enough you'll find some fun CGI clips of Grimlock trashing cars, G1 style Bumblebee, Laserbeak, and my favorite: Kickback kicking the crap out of someone's camera lens.

And double thanks for the jukebox Matt - I listened to it while I worked today … it was great. =D

You did it for Knacks? What is that like 8 months after the fact? I never did add Knacks. And I keep getting all these porn invites. I check it about once a month at this point.

Oh well, makes with the link. Not that you need to add me, but I'd at least like to have a gander.

I guess I should have put some emoticon by the Knacks remark but I don't know one for :justkiddingIputitbecauseitiscommongroundbetweenus.

I sat and looked for a way to join the conversation but, no offense to anyone, I'm just not feeling the X-E vibe right now…and I'm not sure why…and it makes me sad

….

Then change it, mang. This is your world. You've got the touch. You've got the POWER.

As for the first Turtle movie back in 1990, I went the Saturday on opening weekend. The theater had two people in the lobby dressed as a lumpy misshapened Ninja Turtle and a Foot Ninja. Sometime during the beginning of the movie, the film broke, and they sent the two costumed characters in the theater in an attempt to entertain the restless masses–doing piss-poor karate moves and whatnot. The crowd began booing the duo and kicked them out sending them back to the depths from whence they came. So anyway that's my Turtle Movie story.

My mother perpetrated a lie. Mainly because she thought she'd get away with it, but really because she's just really that silly and thought she was telling the truth.

She had me believing for YEARS that Keanu played Casey Jones. Despite the fact that I've had the movie on VHS since it was released, I never bothered to check. And I never would have, but I think I mentioned it to the Colonel and he made me check imdb.

Point being, I think I could go my entire life w/o watching another Turtles movie, or episode or what have you. If any of my childhood obsessions were driven by bandwagonning (new wordage!), it was TMNT. My favorite Turtles toys were the TF rip-offs. The turtles that turned into baby turtles, and the Motorcycle that turned into a Hang Glider.

I remember one comic being Lord Zedd creating a monster out of trash, with its torso a vacuum cleaner, and a TV for the head, with an Evil Newsguy's face as the face & voice.

and Pearl Update: Just 20 minutes ago, I beat the Elite 4! Natiomnal Dex is mine!! Hardest fight? Cynthia by far. Caarry a crapload of hyper & max potions, full restores and revives. I mean it.

Today's swarm pokemon: Dunspace. Wow. I caught one, though. And my Mansion pokemon is Eevee! Yep…they're catchable in this version. As are Castform and Porygon.

I never got this magazine because my Family resisted because they thought that I shouldn't have boys toys and I should have girls toys and I just wanted them because I saw them and not because I truely wanted them. I have a couple toys of TMNT and I will cherish them always.

I appreciate this article because at a garage sale when I was about 14 or so I got an NES, several games, fancy controllers and a couple boxes of old nintendo power magazines. I don't know if they are the same now, but they were exactly like this, mario drawings, jokes nintendo related, ads for the latest games, letters, etc. also top scores and articles about nintendo masters. Comics as well.

I also have one copy of a short lived in 1991 Simpsons Illustated magazine. It's a 3d edition it apparently came with 3d glasses that I remember the top it said revenge of the space mutants in 3d! or something but they are long gone. It was a fluffy kids magazine too. I also got the fox 49 (portland, oregon local station) kids club free magazine. It didn't have a spine it was one of those stapled together and folded over deals, it had coupons, drawings, letters, comics, and articles about the saturday morning and weekday kids show, cartoon lineup. I got it for about 3 years (I still have most of them in good condition) they talked about bobby's world, life with louie, power rangers, ninja turtles, Tiny toons, animaniacs, and norm the fox guy whom was a local real life character that had a couple of specials and just mostly commericals about how cool fox cartoons are. Towards the end I was concerned they would stop sending them (they said they were going to stop when you were 12, i think i was about 13) and I wanted to send in another card with a much younger age on it. They would be good article material but I am afraid they talk about local topics too and Matt would be bored, also everybody else except me.

and Muppet Baby As long as you can pay your own way with your job you have now, it's cool. Maybe it will work out later that you get a teaching job, but if you like your job you have now that's lucky because I know so many people that have a horrible job.

I totally remember the Tiny Toon Adventures magazine. I only got the first issue but I remember a section that was a takeoff of MAD Magazine's "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions", although the jokes weren't as funny of course.

A friend my brother knows sent me a couple old Muppet magazines from the early 1980s. Too bad I don't have a scanner because I would totally scan those magazines on my computer. Of course, it would also be helpful to have my own website so I could share it online with everybody.

Also, does anybody remember the Disney Adventures Magazines? They were shaped like TV Guide magazines. My mom actually ordered a subscription for my cousin, but the first issue was sent to our house and I got the issue instead of my cousin. How cruel is it that your own mother buys a subscription to a magazine for a relative and not her own son, especially when she probably would have known I would have enjoyed a magazine like that as well?

Well, that's about all the rambling I could say for right now. I only wish I knew of places back home like Ben Franklin where they would have those packets of three Marvel comic books. Usually you would get some generic comic, but sometimes you would be lucky to find the short-lived three issues of Smurfs comics. I owned so many copies of those comics that sometimes when I'm on here, I imagine wanting those comics again. Oh well, there's always ebay I guess! Thanks for reading my ramblings.

I dont know how long it's been up, but our computer at home took a dump this weekend.

The jukebox is the best thing that's happened to me today by far. Not hard to top your husband forgetting your birthday I guess… He swears he didnt forget, but he didnt mention it this morning either.

Little does he realize…it could have just been a dvd from best buy kind of birthday and now it's going to have to be a jewelry kind of birthday.

Dawesome article. To quote one Mr. Walt Ruggario, I think you should control the world.
The TMNT movie was way better than it had a right to be. They really did cop out with the lack of Krang though.

Also, why do I have to not have cable tv?! Sure, I'm just fine with my Blockbuster movies, until you go and post a blog like this and make me wish that I could trade every one of my crappy kung-fu rentals for a night like that one. It's the Discovery Channel specials that get me. Can't get anything like that at Blockbuster either, unless you like Michael Moore. Or McDonald's lawsuit documentaries.

I sat around last night watching The Worst Witch eating a giant plate of pumpkin innards. It was great!

Thanks for the kind words, everyone! XE is the best part of my day sometimes.

My bookstore job has HORRIBLE pay, but I have some savings, so for now, it is no big deal; and I am working there for pleasure. I have never had a job that I did just for the fun of it before.

Turtles II was the first movie I saw in a theater. I saw the first Turtles movie at the drive-in. It was madness! Tons of kids running around, and the movie itself rocked, of course.

I recently found an old issue of Simpsons magazine
which is basically the same format as the turtles mag except no articles about the komodo dragon. Its from around the era when the show was semi popular but before it made the "big leap," possibly '92. The best thing in it is a legitimately funny comic involving Homer and Mr. Burns playing golf against each other, which interestingly pre-dates an episode when they also golf against each other at the swanky country club Marge wants to join. Anyway my point is it many other shows had magazines, not just kids shows back in the day. I wonder if they still make a Simpsons one?

Well Lammy, they put out about 1,288,305 different Simpsons comics per month, if that helps.

Matt if you love killer ants check out possibly the worst episode of MacGyver where he goes to this world country to fight off a bunch of killer ants wearing some sort of biohazard suit….

Not to long ago, Vampirella had a magazine/comic like the turtles one. It didn't last long before they just went back to the comic.

Do you guys remember the old WWF Battlemania magazine/comic? It was different from their regular magazine because it was basically a series of comics featuring the wrestlers. It had stuff like the Bushwhackers trashing a restaurant or the Ultimate Warrior running amock in the Takers mauseleum.

Heck, they just revamped their current magaine to be more like a mens magazine instead of a wrestling one not too long ago.

Just got done watching Alien Nation. Good movie. I vaguely remember the tv series it launched.

"he oils his wheels, tightens his drivetrain, now michealangelo is set to hit the ramps…."
man thatmade me laugh way waaay too hard, i sjateboard, i have for about 14 years now and i would ABSOLUTLY LOOOOOVE TO KNOW WHAT IN THE NAME OF GOD A 'DRIVETRAIN IS! do they mean the trucks or hangers you think matt??
hope everyones havin a good one!!
take care y'all
Mr. C
BY THE WAY…i have to attend my firstfuneral this weeK, kinda scared, anyone have any suggestions for me?? anything would be greatly appreciated!!!

When TransFormers hits DVD, I hope they put the S7 "Evidence" in the Bonus Features. Laserbeak was pretty cool. But now, there is no excuse not to have Soundwave in the next one. "Mass exchange not realistic" my shiny metal ass! What do you call what happened to the AllSpark Cube?

Okay, I tried deceptibot as the password and even takara83 like Joystiq said. I'm not getting in. What's the deal, yo?

I've been to several funerals, all family except for a couple of years ago when we buried my best friend. No matter who it is, how close you were (or weren't), it's an obviously serious event that needs to be treated with 100% respect for the person, their friends, and family.

Like I said, I've been to several, my mom's mother 2 years ago, my mom's grandmother 3 years ago, my dad's mother appx 15 years ago, my step dad's mother 7 years ago, my aunt about 8 years ago, and my best friend 2 years ago. There's no seperation of people at all. Weak or strong, it doesn't matter. You're all human with natural human emotions. Don't be afraid to cry, show your emotions, share a kind and supportive word to anybody that appears to need it.

Wow! TMNT magazine! I forgot all about that one. I used to own it, but I don't think I ever actually read it. But I do remember staring at the awesome cover.

Which, by the way, is the same piece of art used for a TMNT huge wall clock I used to own.

Joshua, my advice (and it may seem sort of silly now) is to put a few tissues in your pocket. Even if you don't think you're going to cry, (a) you might be wrong and/or (b) you may be able to offer them to someone who *is* crying.

There's nothing worse than attending a funeral that doesn't have tissue boxes and having to sniffle your way through. And like fistpittingsnork said, have respect above all else. "I'm sorry for your loss" is generally the best way to go. "He/she's in a better place", "This was all for a reason" etc. etc. has always irritated me (as the griever).

I agree. "I'm sorry for your loss" is the proper support I'd prefer to hear from someone trying offer their condolences.

"He/she's in a better place" sounds too much like recited comfort to me. Usually (not in all cases) coming from someone who was there to get out of work or just to be in all the action.

Lammy742 That simpsons magazine was called Simpsons Illustrated I got one copy the 3D edition. It ran for 10 issues from 1991-1993, published four times per year. I just looked that up on Wikipedia.

and Joshua I used to work at a cemetary and funerals are very touchy people are very sensitive. I don't know how well you knew this person (if at all) but the best thing to do is just to give a shoulder to lean on and share positive moments that you had with that person.

I am watching Rosanne they are showing the episode where Darlene gave birth to her premie daughter and it's a real tearjerker. I am not usually the type to cry because of watching a tv show or a movie but that was really emotional. I love that show!!

And I am thrilled today bouncing off the walls because I just have to do a drug test at 4:30 later and that is for a job at walmart! It's for a sales associate job and doesn't sound like fun but it sounds easy for almost 9 dollars an hour! If I had a parttime job that would be great so I can get ready for the army next year! Yipee!! It's been like 9 months since I have worked so this is a great deal.

Okay, here's how you recreate Jazz's death on your desk without buying another Deluxe Class Jazz to break in half:

1. Pick up the Legends Class Jazz
2. Snap off his legs (ball joints, FTW)
3. Fold his torso up under his grill
4. Place him in (well on) Optimus's hand
5. Smile

If you have broadband internet and a (fairly) large hard drive, you don't need cable tv to see some great Discovery TV programming - just point your newsreader (there are several good free ones) to alt.binaries.multimedia on your internet provider's newsgroup server and search for "discovery". People post dozens of different programs each month, with the commercials cut out. There is a little bit of a learning curve, but not too much… If you're interested, I could point you towards a couple of pages that explain how to access multimedia content on the Internet.

Does anyone remember Hot Dog! magazine? I think I used to get it from the Scholastic book club back in the day.

Wow, I missed a whole week of the Megaparty. I feel like the friend of the group who has a summer job.

Yes, I do remember Hot Dog magazine. I can't recall much about it, but I do have vague recollections of it.

thank you so much guys and gals…you really helped A LOT!!
and i knew her well, so its even harder
but my thanks to you cats…
take care!
Mr. C

I hear you Bill. This whole work and commute thing with no internet access for 8-10 hours a day is driving me nuts. I must get back to buying Powerball tickets twice weekly just to keep the dream alive in my head.

My God Matt. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that TMNT magazine review. I had that issue, hell, I had a subscription. I remember drawing that cover over and over again. And I read that article about kids studying karate till it was worn out (I was still 2 years away from taking it up myself after begging my parents for yeeeears) Then, one day…a Looney Tunes magazine came, with a letter from bugs bunny saying that all things must change and TMNT magazine was no more. My small word was shattered. *sniff*

I just got the Turtles, Revenge of the Ooze, and Turtles in Time three pack dvd and in the words of the great Artie Lange, "It's two great movies to watch and one great movie to snort an 8ball off of."

I agree with Bill and kb- It is HARD to go to work for 8 hours and have no internet access allllll day. At least at call centers, I could sneak a peak here and there….I have a whole other life on the internet, ya know?

OK- Its about time it is asked- Who was your favorite Turtle? Donatello was always my favorite because he was the "smart" one in the gang, just like I was. Also, he kicked ass with just a STICK. PLUS, he saved the Turtles butts all the time with his wicked inventions. He always saved the day!

Josh, I second purplegirl and fistpittingnork's advice. Bring tissues, even if you don't expect to need them, and avoid the "things happen for a reason" and "in a better place" stuff. Unless you know for a fact that the bereaved is a faithful/religious person, hearing that kind of thing can actually make someone feel worse. Just be sincere. Also (and this may be silly and/or obvious) don't think you have to wear head-to-toe black or anything ultra fancy. Think job interview. (And it took me too long to type this, but there you go)
Mikey's definitely my favorite turtle, followed by Raph. And I love that episode of Roseanne.

i have that first issue of TMNT magazine framed and displayed proudly on my wall. it's rather beaten up as i took it everywhere with me as i read each article dozens of times and used the images of the turtles as templates for my own drawings. what was in the middle of it? i know there was something in there, but i had taken it out back in the day and lost whatever it was.

Ah yes, Lammy….the ol' Simpsons Illustrated. Not only did the Turtles have their own magazine, but so did the Simpsons, the Looney Tunes, Mickey Mouse, DuckTales, Garfield…probably more. I had several of those cheap licensed-character magazines, which are now gone. Wish I could see them again…

So I read this article and I used to live so close to Croghan NY that it really caught my interest. So, I did a google search for "Michael Lewis Croghan NY" and there actually IS a Michael Lewis in that area - He used to be a forest ranger for Lewis (haha) County. So I called the number listed and asked for Mikey.

The guy that answered said he no longer worked there and believed the guy had retired. So no dice.

I thought it was pretty neat though.. I just wanted to see if there was any validity to those letters. It's still up in the air I guess, but I thought I would share! Great article as usual!

This article reminds me of 2 major events in my childhood! Check this out!
——————————————-
1. The "Door To Door" ad reminded me of something that happened to me in the 5th grade.

As part of a class project, the teacher (Mr. Rassmusen) would let us write to famous people and send them a request for free stuff. It was all part of a reading program. See, when you read a book, the number of pages in the book went into a kind of credit bank. Then on the last day of school, the teacher would hold an auction for all the free stuff we bugged the famous people for. I've always loved this teacher for this stunt. It's a really good idea and it worked…on me anyway cuz I read so many books that year, I knew I just HAD to have enough page-points to win the item I wrote Marvel Comics for:

A rare "Marvel-Team-up" issue featuring Spider-Man and Wolverine…AUTOGRAPHED BY STAN LEE!!!!!!

I cost me almost every credit I had but I won it! I also took home a "month's" supply of Fritos! Not a bad way to spend the last day of school!!!
——————————————-
2. I got to see the TMNT movie THE DAY BEFORE IT CAME OUT!!!

See, there was a theater not too far from my house, that was going to do a Midnight screening of TMNT. The movie absolutely blew me away! My Dad was so cool, he took me to it and let me go to bed at 3AM! Still in my top 5 best Dad moments!

Now I know this wasn't technically seeing the movie a day early since it was midnight, but the whole next day at school, I was the BMOC! I talked about that movie about 5,000 times that day and loved every second of it!

I loved the article with Elias (Casey Jones). Was kinda looking for a question of:

A: Um, no. Actually, I did the movie cause I need to make rent, and some Christmas money would be nice…

I remember the TMNT movie… it was the first movie I actually went to a theatre to see. I remember I also had the novelized version. 60 pages is a lot to read for a 6-year-old. I also had an ep of the Simpsons magazine way back when.

Wow Matt, your recent inspiration is… well inspirational. Both pieces were great reads. Thanks for the super long cruise article also!!

Another great article, matt!
I also wanted to chime in that I used to subscribe to this magazine, though not quite intentionally.
I was an avid subscriber of the Ghostbusters magazine that had been out prior to this, and suddenly one month, I found a letter polybagged along with my copy of Real Ghostbusters Magazine that pretty much informed me that in no uncertain terms this was the last issue I, or any other ghosthead sucker would be receiving, for the magazine was being replaced with the TMNT Magazine. Needless to say, I was outraged, but even though my letter that I dictated to my parent explaining my 8-year old unabashed hulk-like fury was sent out, I never discovered an apologetic response from my favorite magazine. Instead, I got the first issue of TMNT mag, as promised by the heathens that destroyed my magazine dreams.

This can all be summed up simply as an extra tidbit if your readers are interested: The TMNT magazine replaced The Real Ghostbusters magazine in 1990 and the subscribers were switched to the TMNT mag without having a say in the matter.

Well, at least Gremlins never had a magazine to be torn from my loving arms. That would cause me to call up my parents now, and dictate yet another letter extolling my fury in ways that would wake the Old Ones from their slumber, and probably cause David Hasselhoff to hop in Knight Rider and save the day.

I am way into great bad movies. when i was like 12 i saw this late night movie called "Raise the Titanic". it was the best worst movie ever made. it took me 11 yrs to see it again. i had to download it. check it out!

Add A New Comment!

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 8th, 2007 at 5:40 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.