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11/07/2007: Cranberry Splash and Christmas Care Bears.

I’m extremely pleased to confirm the return of Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash, which debuted last year and was automatically accepted by my committee-of-one into the pantheon of special edition holiday sodas worthy of word-of-mouth gushing and marble notebook sticker tributes.


I rarely if ever actively choose a soda from the lemon-lime branch, but the addition of cranberry (even artificial cranberry) turns this into something I’d consider calling “wicked” if fucking Weasel Ron didn’t ruin the word for me. It’s so good. I usually have to rely on my holiday spirit to get through these seasonal offerings, but this stuff is worth stockpiling in an empty cupboard for use in late June.

With its green packaging and 100% “Christmas Red” soda color, this is an absolute must for anyone seeking to boost their spirit by way of carbonated beverages. There’s even a diet version, which I don’t recall seeing last year. Everything about it makes me happy, and while soda technically shouldn’t be able to stir such strong emotions, I find myself at peace knowing that it’ll be at least two months before Cranberry Splash becomes hard to find. If anything I write between now and New Year’s Eve seems cracked out and jittery, this soda will be the reason.


One of our local pharmacies is especially awesome as it relates to carrying random holiday decorations/candy/blahblah, and a few nights back, we turned what was supposed to be a routine contact lens fluid pickup into a shopping spree. The woman did a comical double-take when she spotted the three Care Bears “Holiday Friends” shown above, and though they’re usually the kind of thing we’d look at for a minute before buying something cheaper and less cutesy, the store had mispriced them at $2.49 each. They’re supposed to cost eight bucks each, and even rung up as such, but the manager decided to honor what the price stickers said. He likely belt-whipped the employee responsible after we left, or at least, that’s how the story ends in the big budget film I plan to produce based on this experience.

“Cheer Bear” is clearly the leader of the trio with his (her?) kickass reindeer getup. The other two are just bears in hats, but Cheer Bear vies to be two animals in one, like a Wuzzle. Wuzzles are at least slightly more appropriate for scribes-with-sacs to be writing about, so he (she?) makes me feel okay with this level of coverage.

Fun Fact: Spellcheck tells me that “mispriced” isn’t a real word. Who knew?


Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

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Discussion Thread: 158 comments

Sierra Mist just has a nasty taste to me. I like lemon-lime, but I prefer Sprite or even 7up. But I love cranberry, on it’s own or as a mixer so I just picked up a bottle of Cranberry Splash and it’s chilling so I can try it for myself.
Cheers for the Christmassy home page!!! DJ D, there’s a link to the Christmas juke on the blog. Look for the Santa hat.

Ghosted by squee4242 @ 11/08/2007 2:57 AM EST


DJ D, everybody seems to be telling you that the jukeboxes are on the right hand side of the blog, but I’m not going to do it! wait…

Am I the only person who enjoyed hearing Ron say “bloody ‘ell?” I thought his English mannerisms were funny… Especially his mom, who apparently bitch slaps somebody. Instant comedy!

Ghosted by Ben @ 11/08/2007 3:01 AM EST


I had some cranberry sierra mist a coupla weeks back and thought it was the bee’s knees. It was less sweet than most other sodas with a bit of a kick on the aftertaste. Yummy.

I saw the swarovsky care bear at TRU the other day too…a silver and white care bear is kind of weird. Seems kind of like all that good care bear juju got sucked out of it by No Heart.

Ghosted by jason @ 11/08/2007 3:29 AM EST


Jerrod: I found a glass that resembles the Ms. Pac-Man mug. It’s right here:

http://www.zutco.com/dish_dishes_1.htm

Scroll down and look at the 3rd set of glasses. The one that’s second from the left that has the red ghost chasing Ms. Pac-Man is exactly like the one that I have. The only difference is that one is a glass, and mine’s made out of glass but has a glass mug handle, which maakes it more muggy.

Vanilla Fire: I’m in SC, and am always on the lookout for other X-E’ers south of the Mason-Dixon. Batman Forever, really?? I mean, it definetly beats that Batman and Robin catastrophe, but I dunno…I gotta go with the first of Burton’s Batmans as the best without a doubt…and it’s actually my fave movie of all time, ever, ever.

Thanks everyone for the heads-up on the jukeboxes. I totally didn’t even notice them till 45 people pointed them out to me. My Media Player’s kind of wonky on the X-Mas one though. When I played the Halloween one I could see the entire playlist on the right hand side of the player and just choose the song I wanted to hear, but this one loads the songs indvidually without showing the whole playlist, so you gotta just skip past which ever one’s playing if you want a preview of what’s coming up. Is it just my Media Player or is that just the way it’s set up?

I lived in England for 4 months in the spring of 1999 and it was the best 4 months of my life. I did a student exchange and went to school there. I spent my spring break travelling all around Europe. I’ve said things like “bloody hell” and “bleedin’” ever since. I still catch myself greeting people with “how ya doin, a’right?” I swear I say that shit every day without even thinking about it. I don’t think I came back with an accent or anything but I definitely came back with a whole new vocabulary.

Ghosted by DJ D @ 11/08/2007 3:39 AM EST


Dammit, DJ D! Stop with the bleedin’ double posts! Sorry folks, but I just had to get this in. If anyone’s up watching TV right now you’ve GOTTA flip over to VH1 Classic. They’ve got something going where they’re just showing loads of live performances of 70’s and 80’s punk and new wave bands, just one after the other with no introduction or anything. They all take place in small, sweaty clubs. In the last few minutes I’ve seen Echo and the Bunnymen, Oingo Boingo, XTC, and The Go-Go’s. Right now they’re playing The Dead Kennedys. This is the shit! God, I was born 10 years too late. All my fave bands were at their peak when I was 8.

Ghosted by DJ D @ 11/08/2007 3:46 AM EST


Man, those glasses are all spectacular. Those would go great with my Peanuts camping glasses from McDonalds.

Is it too Freudian and weird that I like to drink from the same things I could’ve concievably drank from when I was a very small child? Hmm…

Ghosted by Jerrod @ 11/08/2007 4:02 AM EST


I 3rd, or is it 4th, the suggestion of vodka and cranberry sierra mist mixed. I had to last year at the family Christmas party.. so good.

Bethany – Holiday Spice was the greatest. I can’t even tell you how much I drank when it was out. I just wish Pepsi would brink it back. I looked for it last year, but no luck (I’m in MI), but I will be keeping a look out for it again this year.

I’m thinking about getting a Swarovski Crystal/Sterling Silver Care Bear. I loved the Care Bears, but I would be tempted to open the package just to get the DVD and watch it.

Ghosted by Alyssa @ 11/08/2007 10:48 AM EST


Breaking news!!! Peppermint Mocha and Gingerbread and Eggnog Lattes are back at Starbucks! I never thought the coffee maker crapping out on me would result in such happy news.

Ghosted by squee4242 @ 11/08/2007 12:05 PM EST


Squee

If you’re into the Starbucks bottled frapps, they have a Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mocha that’s out for the holidays. I had one about 3 weeks ago and I won’t lie, it’s pretty delicious.

Ghosted by fistpittingnork @ 11/08/2007 12:49 PM EST


Sorry for the DP, but that should read “they have their Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mocha” bottled frapps out.

I haven’t been in a Starbucks shop in about a year since I was Christmas shopping last season and stopped by for the only thing I really buy from a Starbucks store, a hot carmel apple cider.

I used to buy the bottled frapps all the time, but since Java Monsters came out, I haven’t been drinking much else.

Ghosted by fistpittingnork @ 11/08/2007 1:03 PM EST


DJ D: Alright, I confess that I haven’t actually seen the earlier Tim Burton ones. It’s my new project. But I love Batman Forever because it has the Riddler, who is my favorite Batman villain, and because it’s so awful that it’s hilarious. I remember flipping channels and stumbling upon the dramatic realization:

“Mr. E. Mystery! Mr. E. Nygma…Edward Nygma!”

Incredibly hilarious. Man, I gotta go watch that now…

Ghosted by Vanilla Fire @ 11/08/2007 1:30 PM EST


So it has begun. I bought eggnog today. I also got candy cane ice cream and the old Christmas favorite, green and red sugar cookies in the shape of wreaths, bells and gingerbread men. I need to slow up before I spark a Christmas yard light competition in the neighborhood.

Ghosted by Bill @ 11/08/2007 1:42 PM EST


Matt, I was just wondering if you have ever actually bought a lobster and set it free or if this is just a secret ambition you are harboring and will one day accomplish? Mayhap we should set up a special day to free the lobsters! Except I live in the desert and am not sure where I would set one free and expect it to live.

Ghosted by Cricket @ 11/08/2007 1:45 PM EST


One thing I always liked about the 60’s Batman show and movie, is when Batman, Robin, Gordon and O’Hara pace back and forth while trying to figure out criminal motives. They cross each other’s paths, and never once collide.

Ghosted by kingklash @ 11/08/2007 2:18 PM EST


mmmm I loooooove the eggnog lattes. We JUST got a starbucks but a local shop was doing them before too. Crappy part is I’m doing the low carb thing so I can’t enjoy :(

On another note, upgrading from 2.0.4 to 2.3.1 Wordpress. Lol I backed everything up but if you want to send some good luck mojo my way please do!

Ghosted by Primus @ 11/08/2007 2:19 PM EST


Squee
Thanks for the heads up! I LOVE the Eggnog Lattes!

Ghosted by Dan H @ 11/08/2007 2:20 PM EST


Sorry for the potential DP but speaking of Batman I read that DC is going to kill off Bruce Wayne and give one of the Robin’s the cowl! WTF?!?! Click my name for the story.

Ghosted by Dan H @ 11/08/2007 2:24 PM EST


Thanks, fistpittingnork.

Anyway, I’m actually looking forward to Thanksgiving more than Christmas right now. Since we’ve both been having trouble with our respective families, we’re planning on having Thanksgiving by ourselves this year. I’m looking forward to cooking my own damn turkey for the first time.

Ghosted by Annette @ 11/08/2007 2:29 PM EST


But…Bruce Wayne is Batman. I think my soul just died a little.

Ghosted by Vanilla Fire @ 11/08/2007 3:12 PM EST


Vanilla Fire: I’m a total Batman fanatic and I’ve gotta say Tim Burton’s first Batman movie not only is my favorite movie of all time, but cemented Micheal Keaton as being my favorite actor. Christian Bale is great and all, but Keaton IS Batman. Hell, he even said so in the beginning of the movie…

(dangling crook over the rooftop)

Batman: “I want you to do me a favor. I want you to tell all your friends about me.”
Crook (sniveling and terrified): “What are you!!??”
Batman: “I’m Batman.”

Batman throws the crook back on the roof, turns, srpeads his cape out all Bat-like, jumps off the roof and disappears. That did it. At that moment, at the age of 12, I decided I would grow up to be Batman. I’m still working on it.

Dan H: Dude, I know! I was just reading that a second ago myself! WTF?? Now, we all know that killing him off is just a temporary condition and they have been saying for quite a while that a big event was coming up this summer, but still. I mean, this whole death/coming back thing is getting old in comics. There have been too many of them too soon. Captain America (who I’m sure will be back before you know it), Bucky, Jason Todd (which admittedly just rocked my world when that happened), and all the others. I already have a theory about how he’ll come back in 6 months. Two words: Lazarus Pit. That is, assuming he really is dead to begin with and not just hiding out somewhere. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. As far as one of the Robin’s taking up the costume it would have to be Knightwing. Tim Drake still isn’t tall enough or old enough to pull it off.

I can handle the death/coming back thing. The only thing that would make me really pissed is if he decided to do a Spider-Man, and unmask in front of the world. That’s just too much.

Ghosted by DJ D @ 11/08/2007 3:14 PM EST


Sorry for the potential DP but speaking of Batman I read that DC is going to kill off Bruce Wayne and give one of the Robin’s the cowl!

Frank Miller killed Bruce Wayne 21 years ago. It’s about time they burried him.

Ghosted by dohopoki @ 11/08/2007 3:26 PM EST


*reads DJ D’s post about VH1 Classic*

*looks at time of post*

*bangs head on table*

*vows to check X-E more often to avoid missing stuff*

Ghosted by jazzy @ 11/08/2007 3:30 PM EST


Has anyone else seen the peppermint flavored PEEPS? They’re in Christmassy packaging and are shaped like stars. I spotted ‘em last night at Walgreens.

Ghosted by Boingophile @ 11/08/2007 3:37 PM EST


I was curious about the lobster quote, too.

Does it have anything do to with Edward Furlong’s lobster liberation?

Ghosted by fistpittingnork @ 11/08/2007 3:38 PM EST


jazzy: Oh, man it was really great. It was just one song after another with no breaks or anything. It was like watching one big concert except flipping around to different bands. I even saw some bands I had never heard of before that were pretty good. The last performance was The Police doing a really long version of “Roxanne” and in the middle of it they sort of turned it into a medly and starting playing “S.O.S” (I think that’s what it’s called), and then ended up back at “Roxanne.” All of this stuff looked like it was shot mid 70’s-late 80’s. It would have made my night if The Cure, Siouxise and the Banshees, and The Talking Heads showed up, but I don’t recall seeing them. But, later on, right before I went to bed I got to see the video for Lullaby by The Cure, and a Peter Murphy video, which name escapes me, so that made up for it.

Ghosted by DJ D @ 11/08/2007 3:39 PM EST


DJ D: When I was little, I wanted to marry Batman. So, if you ever achieve that goal, let me know.

Ghosted by Vanilla Fire @ 11/08/2007 3:40 PM EST


DJ D: Have you ever seen Decline Of Western Civilization? If you haven’t and like that era of music you should check it out. Old interviews with Black Flag, Gang of Four and the like. The sequel is great too. It documents the late eighties metal scene in LA. It’s on IFC every so often.

Ghosted by Bill @ 11/08/2007 4:23 PM EST


Bill: I’ve heard of it and have seen clips from both of them but haven’t seen them all the way through. Sounds like something I should check out though. I’ve never been much of a punk guy although I have a good appreciation for it. As far as that eara is concerned, I’m more into goth and new wave, but I do really like a lot of old thrash and speed metal from back then like Metallica and Pantera….and can’t forget Judas Priest.

Oh, and thanks for giving me yet another type of junk food to pick up at the store today. You talking about those green and red sugar cookies has got me craving them now. I was going to wait a little longer to do any sort of Christmas releated spending, but I may not be able to deny the power of green and red sprinkled Christmas sugar cookies. They’re the devil.

Ghosted by DJ D @ 11/08/2007 4:49 PM EST


Thanks for the recommendation on the Cranberry Sierra Mist, Matt. Just went to the store to pick some up. While I was there, I also saw in the 7-Up section, Limited Edition Pomegranate 7-Up. I looked it up on the internet, and it’s also being marketed as a holiday-themed drink. I picked up a bottle, but I’ve never had a pomegranate or anything pomegranate-flavored.

Ghosted by Rich @ 11/08/2007 4:52 PM EST


DJ D, that would be Message in a Bottle. You must not have any friends that play Guitar Hero ;) Speaking of Guitar Hero, I just watched yesterday’s South Park and it was wicked hilarious.
Thanks for the tip, nork! I’m not crazy about the bottled ones but I’m a sucker for dark chocolate and I don’t need to be going to Starbucks as often as I did last Christmas so I’ll look for those. Nothing’s so cheery as the red cup, though.

Ghosted by squee4242 @ 11/08/2007 4:54 PM EST


Killing off Bruce Wayne, huh? I’m thinking that Dick Grayson would probably take the mantle. They were planning on killing him off, but there were massive protests and they canned that plan. I guess he needs something to do. Of course, this is comics, where very few things are permanant.

Does anyone know if they make eggnog ice cream? To me, that would be a logical flavor to make for this season, but I’ve never encountered it. If they can make pumpkin ice cream, they can make eggnog ice cream.

Ghosted by JLAJRC @ 11/08/2007 5:06 PM EST


squee-dee-doo: Yeah, that’s the one. I’ve always liked the song but didn’t know the name. And you’re right. I’ve yet to know the joy of Guitar Hero. I guess I’ll have to find somebody who has it and give it a go to see what all the hype is about.

JlAJRC: Yeah, I didn’t like the idea of them killing off Dick Grayson either and was glad they changed their mind. Batman’s got so many supporting characters I’m sure they can find some villains or something to kick the bucket. I was never a fan of Killer Croc or some of those other d-listers so I say start there. The thing is, as much as I like all of the characters that are in Batman’s circle my big complaint with the Bat books these days is that too many people know who he is. I mean, the dang secret identity isn’t so secret if everyone he works with knows what it is, not to mention a few of his biggest villains.

Bringing back Jason Todd was amazing though. As much as I’m against all this death/resurrection crap that happens in comics too much, I was behind that one. I guess cause I’m just such a huge fan I don’t want any cool Bat character to die. As long as his parents don’t come back, I’m all for it. That would just be lame. But yeah, the whole “Superboy Prime Punch” gimick was both incredibly over the top and just a stroke of genius at the same time. There’s just no limit to what they can do with that now.

Ghosted by DJ D @ 11/08/2007 5:28 PM EST


hey DJ D, I dont know if anyone answered this yet, but i found the advent calendars by going to the search bar at the bottom of the main page and typing “advent calendar” i read all of the 2004 one….i think….. it was awesome, and i am making it my mission to read all of the other ones posted by the time december hits. i am new to the x-e family (around my birthday i found it because one of my friends posted the grizzly chops post on their facebook account, and i have been addicted since) i swear my fiancee thinks i have a secret online boyfriend or something since i am constantly on this site…

Ghosted by Leigha @ 11/08/2007 5:54 PM EST


I somehow made it through the whole entire 80’s without watching care bears. I was a tomboy and I guess the ninja turtles and Batman just appealed to me more.

The guy who did “Beastly’s” voice is my friend’s dad!! The stardom did not treat him well unfortunately.

Ghosted by Jinsky @ 11/08/2007 5:55 PM EST


Rich

Thanks for the Pomegranate 7-up tip! I love poms so I’ll definitely go take a look and see if I can find this. Pomegranates are a little annoying to eat raw because of all the seeds, but very delicious, and all the ones I’ve ever had were tart. I’ve heard they can also be very sweet tasting.

squee

Being a GH dork, myself, I made sure to catch last night’s episode and I was laughing throughout most of it. I was getting quite a kick out of the realistic ‘clacking’ sounds when they played. When I noticed Stan and Kyle “whammying” I lost it. My opinion on the episode is extremely biased because of my GH addiction, though.

JLAJRC

With so many Oklahomans on the site, it’s hard for me to remember who all is an Okie. If you are, you can get Egg Nog ice cream from the makers of the best egg nog drink I’ve ever had, Braum’s.

It’s quite delicious.

Ghosted by fistpittingnork @ 11/08/2007 5:58 PM EST


Oh, you guys talking about egg nog ice cream reminded me of something.

Last week, I got some of that Edy’s pumpkin ice cream that Matt wrote about. It doesn’t hold a candle to the Braum’s kind. As a matter of fact, I’ve been pretty unhappy with every flavor of Edy’s that I’ve tried…

Ghosted by Annette @ 11/08/2007 6:04 PM EST


I’m afraid I’m an Iowan, so we don’t get Braums. I did enjoy that Edy’s Pumpkin Ice Cream, though.

Ghosted by JLAJRC @ 11/08/2007 6:27 PM EST


I’ll decorate a Christmas Chair with Waiterbot.

Ghosted by fistpittingnork @ 11/08/2007 6:33 PM EST


Wow, those Care Bears are adorable, and I normally hate Christmas-themed plush novelties. That’s really lucky to get them for such a low price!

I am happy to announce that this is my first blog comment from my new desk! Woo! It might not seem like that big a deal, but it is my first piece of self-bought furniture ever, not to mention the only piece of furniture in my new house. I sleep on the floor. =(

Ghosted by Ariel @ 11/08/2007 6:50 PM EST


JLAJRC what part of iowa are you from….i am attempting to make the fiancee interested in my addiction to X-E, and he is also from Iowa….it may get him to sneak a peak at the advent calendar this season. Speaking of the advent calendar, i was watching tv and a target commercial came on where people were popping out of an advent calendar. i got very very excited.

Ghosted by Leigha @ 11/08/2007 7:08 PM EST


Thanks to Knacks, I have visions of gay yule logs dancing in my head.

Oh my god I love Christmas.

Ghosted by jazzy @ 11/08/2007 7:35 PM EST


I just now noticed the soda in that McDonalds Batman Forever Mug. I only had one, and I think it was Robin.

Ghosted by Joe @ 11/08/2007 8:00 PM EST


I’m from Des Moines.

Ghosted by JLAJRC @ 11/08/2007 8:04 PM EST


Leigha: Yeah, I’ll give that a shot and see what I can find. Got a lot of catching up to do myself. Yeah, only one friend of mine knows about this site and I don’t think he understands my new addiction either.

Hey kids, did you know that X-E is good for more than just a nostalgic good time and good conversation? You too can use X-E for workplace entertainment. Last weekend I was showing someone at work some of the 80’s commercials, and that pretty much started a snowball effect of nearly everyone in the office standing around my desk and watching commercials for Bonkers and G.I Joe toys. For a good 45 minutes or so, nothing got done at work. Oh, and there’s that one somewhat disturbing one for girls underoos that somehow got played like 3 times. After the 3rd time it stopped being funny and just kind of made everyone really uncomfortable.

Ghosted by DJ D @ 11/08/2007 9:15 PM EST


Cranberry Splash has been out at the grocery store I work at since sometime last month. We got in some Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr Pepper today, I like Dr Pepper, I like cherry flavor in pop and I like chocolate covered cherries, but combine them? It sounds awful but I’ve got to try it anyway. I saw those Carebears at Target the other day, but I’m not sure I like the new style enough to get them.

Ghosted by Realm @ 11/08/2007 11:50 PM EST


Dr. Pepper is my liquid crack, but I don’t know about combining dodgy flavors with it. I like it just the way it is. I don’t see any reason to go monkeying around with it with vanilla or cherry or chocolate or whatever. Just leave my Dr. Pepper alone, thank you very much.

*Gives weird Dr. Pepper flavor variations The Care Bear Stare*

Ghosted by DJ D @ 11/09/2007 12:00 AM EST


Yes, Matt really does buy lobsters from the supermarket and set them free.
(click my name)

Ghosted by JoshC @ 11/09/2007 12:19 AM EST


Actually technically they do it themselves, but good story nonetheless.

Ghosted by JoshC @ 11/09/2007 12:20 AM EST


Did Matt cop to being the voice of Waiterbot?

Should we expect to see all the characters have vlogs?

Does Knacks still actually have Tom as a friend on his myspace page?

Ghosted by Knegative @ 11/09/2007 12:22 AM EST


Damn, I already had the voices of the Advent characters in my head and Waiterbot had more of a Robert Goulet voice. R.I.P. Bobby.

Ghosted by Bill @ 11/09/2007 12:28 AM EST


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