The X-Entertainment Blog

11/13/2007: Gingerbread Pop Tarts and Mr. Potato Claus!

Man, so I’m looking at the Macy’s Parade that I’ll be reviewing sometime before Thanksgiving…and it really sucks. I may have to spice up the article with some odd additives just so we can stay on the level of the previous parade reviews. Perhaps it’s time to finally unleash my stuffed mushroom recipe. Maybe baby artichokes?

Finally, Kellogg’s has taken advantage of the uber-customizability of their Pop Tarts brand with an honest-to-goodness holiday edition. New “Gingerbread” Pop-Tarts are brown, limited edition and filled with the same kind of frosting that you’d normally find atop a Cinnabon. I don’t usually “do” Pop-Tarts, but I’ll make an exception for anything that comes in a snowflake-laden wintery box with a smiling gingerbread boy in the corner. Package your personal excrement in such fashion, and I’ll pay a premium.

When I put the Pop-Tarts into the toaster, the heavenly, cookie-esque scent immediately filled the air, replacing our apartment’s usual ambiance of stale smoke in seconds. I’ve covered plenty of special edition Pop-Tarts in the past, but Kellogg’s went through a particular amount of trouble to make these feel/smell/look/taste really different. If you’re sick of so many “special edition” Pop-Tarts falling under the same tired umbrella of neon-colored fruit slime filling, these are a breath of fresh, gingerbready air.

Though I don’t think they really needed the extra boost, Kellogg’s has also provided the Pop-Tarts with a variety of fifty different edible images, mainly featuring a family of gingerbread people in different wintery poses. The gingerbread people are strangely humanoid and kind of creepy, looking less like anthropomorphic cookies and more like pumpkin-headed demons in ski outfits. Then again, that’s pretty cool and I’m not sure why I’m complaining about it.

The flavor of gingerbread cookies is something you really had to grow up on to appreciate. I didn’t, so I don’t, but luckily, Kellogg’s dumbed down the usual gingerbread sting with a flavor a little less biting. To keep the nutritional value of these Pop-Tarts from growing too alarming, the inner layer of gooey frosting isn’t quite as sugary as you might expect it to be. It’s kind of a trade: You’ll make a less orgasmic face while eating them, but you won’t have to feel as guilty afterwards.

From Pop-Tarts to Potato Heads, meet Santa Spud, a deliciously Christmassy Mr. Potato Head toy. Giving Mr. PH a bunch of Santa parts is not a new endeavor, but I really love the way they’ve gone about packaging him this year. Santa Spud arrives in an oversized blister-pack, which lets you enjoy his beauty without actually having to open him. Of course, you’ll never have an awesomely avant-garde Santa Potato Head unless you do. It amazes me that even after all of these years, it’s still a riot to put Mr. Potato Head’s arms where his nose should be. Well, a riot on the inside, at least. Can’t claim that I was rolling on the floor with laughter. On the other hand, I am a joyless truckermomma.

Click here for a closer look at the packaged Santa Spud, and make note of the great “to” and “from” label in the upper right corner. Love it. I’m a big proponent of having some gifts under the tree that aren’t wrapped, mainly because of the gift-opening scene from A Christmas Story. There’s just something nice and wholesome about it, and anytime I can apply such adjectives to a stupid Potato Head is pretty cool.

While I’m here: Thanks for the feedback on the Wishbook article, which has some pretty good momentum going at the moment. Keep adding your unrequited toy lusts to the previous thread!

In other news, Waiterbot is continuing to vlog, but he may have to stop soon because I’m starting to sound like him all the time.

Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

Matt, you are ON FYARR! Great job amping up the Xmas. I’m getting a new TV soon, so once it arrives, out come the Xmas movies and the decorations. I CAN’T HOLD BACK!!

The woman and I previously decided that this would be the weekend to bring down the decorations. Still seems a littttle early, but I know how busy December is, and I don’t want to end up seeing my snowglobes for the first time a week before Christmas.

I have to admit,I’m really interested in the Pop-tarts,but now I realize I have missed a blog post about the wishbook! Crikeys!

Damn those pop tarts look good.. i’ll have to see if they have them up here…. the graphics on the box ON the pop tarts looks nice and vibrant… is it less vibrant on the tart itself or did the pic not do it justice?

I do have to say, i’ve never owned a mr.potato head… shame on me…. however i did get a kick out of playing with my friend’s one when I was young.. i never got more creative than ‘upside-down’ face…

Those poptarts don’t look quite so appetizing for some reason. I think it’s the notion of eating pre-produced “freshly” baked cookies out of your toaster. Or mabye it’s just the whole wheat/spooge look - :S

Pop-Tarts photograph terribly, for some reason. They’re a little darker and more cookie-like in person…they do seem kinda wheaty in the pic.

That Santa Spud seems to be a bit primate. I think it’s the ears. I like your version better, Matt.

lol the frosting still makes me want to take a big ol bite out of gingerbread man’s head.

my brain tends to confuse gingerbread flavours with lots of other christmasy ones like cinnamon and spice, and my grandmothers molassas cookies. I usually then get a shock when I eat or drink something gingerbread flavour… like the starbucks gingerbread latte… my wife got that venti and i went back for the eggnog one…

I EAT POP TARTS EVERY SINGLE DAY. THIS HAS MADE MY MILLENNIUM. I am quite excited, as you may have noticed.

In other news, the bookstore I work at put up the day today and now 3 of our 5 rotating CDs are Xmas music.

I’m not much of a pop-tart fan, either, but these, I will definitely look for, seeing that they’re different than the typical fruit filling with colored icing.

So, Waiterbot had an impromptu “watch party” here at my house. The fiance has a couple of friends over and I noticed that there was a new Vlog, so we watched them all and laughed our rear nether regions off. Only the fiance and I know what’s going on, but that proves that Waiterbot’s unwitting comedy is universal. Hooray!

On the subject of gingerbread Pop-Tarts, I have $4 left in my bank account until Thursday. I just might go in the red over these things. Gah, they sound awesome!

How was ur bday weekend Muppet Baby? I hope all was well :).. hmm a bookstore in Freddy… I wonder how many will kick me out for whispering “X-E? Do you like pop tarts?” under my breath at the workers before i find the right one lmao

Is Santa Spud a regulation-size Potato Head, or one of the smaller scale like Artoo Potatoo and those sports ones?

Since I just saw a Jim Gaffigan special on Comedy Central, wake me up when we see Christmas-Themed Hot Pockets.

Thanks Matt, you have made this workday so much better then most, I sit down and I find a new blog, I find a great article, and now as im close to finishing up my shift, what do I see another blog post, and a waiterbot Vlog!

Once I get very sick after eating a Pop Tart and then I wasn’t able to eat them again for well over fifteen years. I didn’t have a Pop Tart until around 2001.

Sure, now that I am adult I understand that I simply got the flu at some point in the mid-eighties and the last thing I had eaten was a Pop Tart. This caused a taste aversion to develop even though there was no real link between the two.

Still, I could not touch a Pop Tart for over half of my life. Sort of what happened between myself and Long Island Iced Tea. I still can’t touch one of those. If my track record is any predictor, I will be sipping my next sometime around 2016.

That’s good to know. Its not a true Potato Head to me unless you can stow his body parts in his ass.

Now I wanna go pick him up along with that regular/black Spider-Spud two pack that my local Wal-Mart has been tempting me with…

I can do up a pretty mean vector-based smiling Gingerbread Man, so I’ll keep you updated on any boxes of what-not I plan to see with one on the package…

Speaking of which, click my name to see a Flash Gingerbread Dress-Up game I made. It’s not very Christmassy, but whatever, the holiday isn’t for 5 weeks.

And because I didn’t mention it in the last post and now I feel bad, I loved the Wish Book article, Matt.

I agree with Waiterbot — Dino Bravo vs. Hacksaw Duggan set a precedent for what a professional wrestling match could be, a masterful display of storytelling, physicality, and psychology. I’ll have to send Waiterbot an invitation to my next WrestleMania party.

I haven’t seen those Gingerbread Pop Tarts yet, but I will defintatly look for them. I’m on a diet and, like Matt, not a big Pop-Tarts fan, but I love trying Holiday “limited edition” flavors.

And I just had to buy Mint Chocolate Chip Pop-Tarts this weekend, and I just had to go to the grocery store tonight to buy a regular razor because my electric razor’s motor died and I have a presentation in my lab tomorrow so I can’t appear looking like a bum.

Anyway, next time I go grocery shopping I’m definitely … wait a tick, my roommate and I are supposed to pay our electric bill, and we can do that at the grocery store! Oh happy days! *Note: Every time I tried writing “store” it originally came out as “story.”

One last lil’ thang: When I was at the store, I went into the “Holiday” isle (Christmas with about three Thanksgiving decorations and one Hanukkah decoration in there) and got some lights for my apartment. Is it too soon for multi-colored Christmas lights? ‘Cause they’re up now.

Since I’m Canadian, I don’t see Thanksgiving and Christmas as being in the same Holiday season. However, I work in the mall, so for me the Christmas season starts November 1st. Against all my Scrooge-like friend’s wishes, I’ve already broken out my favourite Christmas CD “A Very Special Christmas 2″ that I have been enjoying since I had the tape in 1992 and had to flip over to side B to hear “Christas Is” by Run DMC and Debbie Gibson sing Sleigh Ride. It takes me back to a time when Christmas wasn’t a money spending free-for all and I still hoped Santa would bring me the Barbie Fold N’ Fun House.

It’s customary in my family that Santa gifts are put under the tree unwrapped. That way when children wake the next morning they are greeted with a pile of stuff, thus causing confusion and squeals of joy. I remember loving the pile, but not loving the choice of what to go to first. You had to choose carefully because your parents were waiting to see if you go to the one you whined for most, or the secret surprise gift they threw in to completely throw you off guard. And if you went for the surprise gift first, that could be used in many later Wal-Mart arguments, “Well you wanted that expensive *insert gift child most whined about* and you went straight for my inexpensive *insert surprise gift.*“

Awwww, that Santa is cute! I still haven’t been able to get myself an Optimash, tho, so he’s probably out of the question. One of the bears about having a cat with chronic renal failure and possible chronic heart failure is you don’t know from day to day what you might have to do for them…makes planning ahead something of a guessing game. :/

Oh, and I know its late for Halloween, but click on my name for a funky story about a blue ‘ghost’ that was caught on camera on Sunday at an Ohio gas station. Complete with video and pictures!

Hey Moony, maybe Casper has finally come for his reckoning. The way I see it, Casper could only be friendly for so long until he snapped. And… sat on a car windshield for half an hour. Nevertheless, cool video! I wouldn’t have wanted it to go away. Heck, I probably would have gone out and tried to touch it. And that’s when my arm/face melts off. That would make an awesome story to my as of yet unborn children and grandchildren.

My Santa Spud is sitting nicely on my PC speaker, and my Optimash Prime sits content on a shelf in another room.

In other news, Waiterbot is continuing to vlog, but he may have to stop soon because I’m starting to sound like him all the time.

On the subject of Waiterbot, I read last years advent calendar earlier today (I’m often like a year late some reason so I’ll talk to you about this year’s next November) and would like to make one critique that you may or may not be interested in hearing. I understand the reason for Knacks, Kuse, Waiterbot and other main stay characters to be in there to give you a bigger story to work with earlier on but I am hoping this years Advent Calender has a little more to do about itself than it does with so many things I don’t have any clue where came from. 2003 remains my absolute favorite for the purity of it and I understand going back to just that would be too much now and that the randomness and crappyness of some of the gifts make it hard to write for. Still, the amount of outside props and characters seems to be increasing year to year and while still good, causing a decline of the charm. I mean, the heads that make up Waiterbot and Waiterbetty are one thing to bring in but tiny laundry detergent boxes and ding dongs might be pushing it. Then burning up a bunch of the gifts from the calendar seemed to really underline their unimportance last year. I’m all for the continuing development of Knacks, Kuse, Mare, Box, Waiterbot, Legotron and maybe Mister Snowman but the whole concept is starting to lean too far away from the Advent Calender daily gifts and more into some sort of soft core Legorotica. I’m not opposed to reading such a thing but I’d probably be more inclined to read 2003 again.

I do have a friend who’s hinted that he might get me Masterpiece Starscream (the new Hasbro one, not the green one), but unless he snaps one up immediately I don’t see it being under my Christmas tree.

Matt - hilarious. Also, thanks for keeping the updates coming. They have been top notch, top notch.

Hi Doho — I see where you are coming from but it’s definitely evolved to be more about a bunch of characters “forced” to handle these strange calendars than the calendars themselves. But, if the gifts themselves spark something, they’ll play important roles. And I loved the little detergent box.

It’s really, really foggy out this morning. Like, The Mist-level fog. I keep waiting for the Punisher to materialize in the living room with a big rope.

In terms of material goods this has gotta be one of the best Christmas seasons ever. I can’t believe how much stuff I’ve already found. Seriously, I have a giant bin filled with stuff yet to be covered, plus a couple of others things that need to be in the fridge. And judging by my e-mails, there’s still a ton more left to collect. I know the season means more than the random crap, but random crap sure doesn’t hurt.

Matt: man keep up the kick-ass work. This should more than make up for any of those halloween nay-sayers and if you keep up this pace, you’ll probably have some credit left for next year too ;)… damn fine job!

By the way, Mista Snowman should become the main character in those advent calendars. We all know he’s the best, he just screams CHRISTMAS MAGIC.

I MUST HAVE GINGERBREAD POP TARTS! Primus:Let me know if you see any GB Pop Tarts at the grocery store, chances are if thay are in Saint John we have them down here in Halifax.

Will also have to take a peek for a Santa Spud, my daughter has the Pink Easter Bunny one and she is lonely.

My wife and daughter started decorating for the holidays yesterday, it was a nice suprise when I got home from work. Can’t wait to put up the outdoor lights, will wait a couple of more weeks though.

I MUST have those Pop-Tarts. Only I’ve never had an actual gingerbread (anything) before.

Anyway, the main reason I’m posting here is to do a warning to everyone here because I love you all. Here goes:

DON’T DRINK CHERRY CHOCOLATE DIET DR. PEPPER
DON’T DRINK CHERRY CHOCOLATE DIET DR. PEPPER
DON’T DRINK CHERRY CHOCOLATE DIET DR. PEPPER
DON’T DRINK CHERRY CHOCOLATE DIET DR. PEPPER

Chocolate doesn’t improve everything. It tastes like something Jones Soda would put in one of their holiday packs. Dr. Pepper with a strong cocoa aftertaste isn’t appetizing. I didn’t even taste the cherry.

You already gave us your mushroom recipe a couple years ago, didn’t you? I know you did because I have a rumpled up, grease stained word document entitled “XE Matt’s Mushrooms” and I make them every Christmas eve! But maybe it wasn’t an actual formal article with pretty pictures and stuff…

Yeah, scary crazy fog this morning. I usually fly to the train station (because I constantly oversleep and refuse to set my alarm earlier to accomodate it) but had to crawl through most of the areas closest to the ocean and tidal lakes. Damn near missed my train, which would have sucked. But it’s nice not to run over any people out jogging or walking their dogs or taking a Flanders-esque “Fog Walk”.

I still lust after the chocolate fudge Pop Tarts, but those things are like crack to me. Will have to try the gingerbread at least once. Hopefully, they won’t be as addictive but still good.

Hee, how awesome was Tom Jane at the Scream Awards? Definitely the best non-Grindhouse related moment of the show; still cracks me up just thinking about it. I can’t wait to see The Mist.
Speaking of post-Pop Tart guilt, I guess I’m the only one who was introduced to the disgusting habit of buttering the things? God, talk about being ashamed to look at yourself in the mirror afterwards.

JLAJRC: Have you ever tried ordering a chocolate cherry Dr. Pepper from Sonic, or anywhere else with a “soda fountain” option? Because that wasn’t too bad, and I’m wondering how the canned stuff stacks up.

squee4242: I can’t say as I’ve ever buttered Pop Tarts before, but if it makes you feel any better I have been guilty of dipping Oreos in Marshmallow Creme. I don’t do it on a regular basis or anything, but I’m pretty sure the doctors are going to list it as my eventual cause of death.

Kneg- I think Waitebot wants to kill me. He’s just toying with me and one of these days I’m going to wake up to him standing on my chest and then strangle me with floss.

As for Pop Tars I think there are two types of people in the world; those who like Pop Tarts and those who like Toaster Strudles. I’m a strudle guy. Sort of like those who like Neil Diamond and those who don’t.

Wait, are we talking buttering iced or non-iced Pop Tarts? I can’t stand that icing stuff on there, so when we had Pop Tarts they were always the non-iced kind and I find a thin layer of melted butter on top to be downright heavenly. But I’m with Bill, I’ll take a Toaster Strudel over a Pop Tart any day. Pillsbury makes the best icing.

Wish I could try those pop tarts - but they will never see the light of day over here in Wales!!

Has anyone else out there tried Burger King’s new Angry Whoppers? man… they are soooo nice!

Last night me and a couple of mates went for a 30 mile pilgrimmage to our “local” Burger King to give em a shot!! They are surley the “King” of “Whopper”…

…Angry… Whoppers….? A quick trip to BurgerKing.com shows that… it’s the Texas Whopper! That’s something that they said only we Texans could handle. Hahahaha, good old global marketing!

As for ways of eating Pop-Tarts, I love eating the Smores ones cold/frozen. But the fruit ones I toast. But I definately prefer strudles.

Greg: I’ll stop by Sobeys on the way home tonight (after Jungle Jim’s all you can eat wing night) and see if they have em. It may be a couple weeks before we do get em though.

Yummy… holiday pop tarts. I guess this will be another thing to try and not get at the grocery store this season… however if the boyfriend sees these, I am sure we’ll be picking up a box or 2.

Whenever I see a Sonic commercial, with all those delicious-looking, exotic fountain beverages, I get so *frustrated* that there are no Sonics in northern New Jersey!

Matt, perhaps you could make some home made Angry Whoppers like you made home made Hulla Burgers?

Old Jim — There is a Sonic in Waretown NJ. Sure, it’s not Northern NJ, but it’s not exactly South Jersey either.

Oh duh, nevermind. It wasn’t at the top of the sideline with the other two. I am an idiot.

Jedoc - I about peed my pants when I read that. I laughed out loud for a good 5 minutes afterwards. That was awesome.

Primus: I will let you know if I see anything too! Happy hunting dude! Im not a fan of the Jungle Jims by my place, my kid LOVES it though.

I tend to buy the peanut butter creme oreos and dip them in hot chocolate….it is sooooo goood. im feeling like crap and it is putting me in a bad mood…perhaps i should check out the new vlog

I can’t wait to see the Waiterbot Vlogs.
I am a fan of 2004’s Advent calendar, having only read the 2003 yesterday and find it a bit spaztic.
I’m trying to read the 2006 as we speak (thx 4 teh link Matt!) and work at the same time- Guess which one I’m NOT doing.
heeheehee.
Gingerbread poptarts.. mmm. I’ll have to hunt those down- mebbe tonight as I get the stuff for Eggnog Pie!
Honestly, thanks to X-E for making me feel all Christamssey before it’s even Thanksgiving. I’ve become the thing I hate.
Except I’ve found- it’s not that Bad!

Honestly, thanks to X-E for making me feel all Christamssey before it’s even Thanksgiving. I’ve become the thing I hate.
Except I’ve found- it’s not that Bad!

mmmmmmmm…. now i want something, ANYTHING gingerbread!
I love the holidays! already put my 1000 lights up all along ceiling and walls of apartment 2 weeks ago

I prefer snow… i don’t get as wet walking to the car and don’t need an umbrella :P… sort of torn if inside looking out though. Love to fall asleep listening to the rain. However, if awake, on a night where the big flakes are falling slowly and in mass quantities and no one is moving outside around midnight, i just love to cuddle up on the couch in a comforter and stare out the picture window….

I hope we get snow this December… seeing as how I have decided to embrace Christmas this year…

thanks for the cleanup Matt :P.. i really need to start hitting preview before posting when trying something new…

Crap another thing I need to get. Gingerbread Pop tarts yum yum, perfect companion to Hot Chocolate.

That little Santa Spud is cute..I forsee santa stuffing a few into The stockings at my house.

As far as devilish food habits….ranch dressing on a huge pile of cheese fries or pizza mmmmmm That and French fries dipped in the frosties from Wendys, hm I seem to have french fry issues…oh well.

Honestly, thanks to X-E for making me feel all Christamssey before it’s even Thanksgiving. I’ve become the thing I hate.
Except I’ve found- it’s not that Bad!

Dood, I thought i was the ONLY one who dipped their fries in frosties. mM.
Oh, and just finished the 2006 advent calendar.
I love how Matt tossed care to the wind and started lighting sh*t on fire.
I so couldn’t do that.

Love dissapearing for a few days, coming back and having an awesome amount of new material to read. thanks matt!
Have never owned a mr. potato head myself, but thats soon going to change, love the santa spud, might pick up an opti-mash while im at it.

Man im so amped for christmas now!!
Now if only we’d get some snow, doesnt really seem like its going to be a white christmas. Its going to be 14 degrees here on thursday, dammit..

i just went out out bought the pop tart goodness and SWEET BABAY JESUS THESE THINGS ARE GOOD. theey even have little sprinkles on em for texture and that frosting….ohhhhhhh that frosting is like an oralgasm

You guys will appreciate this:
We have the whole week off next week, then we come back for a few weeks and then Christmas break. NOW, I went ahead and busted out the Christmas decorations for the classroom (I’m a high school teacher BTW) AND THE STUDENTS GIVE ME THE OL’, “It’s not even T-giving yet, blah blah blah.”
I have to tell you I was a little angry. Firstly, the stores had had their stuff out since July so it’s not like I am jumping the gun that much. Secondly, I am not about to put out a cornucopa (sp?) and some buckle hats and feathers.
I can’t imagine busting a teacher’s chops over that; like anyone else even does anything holiday related for them on the high school level.

Manimal, I wonder if it was just some patented MOB MENTALITY. Maybe one wiseguy screamed it, and everyone just felt that it was their duty to join in? Classroom holiday decor is always welcome.

Yeah, teens are the human lemmings (I have honestly gotten them to “bahhh” like sheep before) but I think it was more of a weak attempt to be angsty.

Okay, bro, it’s not like you’re RIDICULOUSLY early, they’re aren’t even gonna BE there next week- and I imagine you won’t want to be either.
Tell ‘em if they don’t like them, they can sit in the corner with their face to the wall, that way they don’t HAVE to look at them.
by the way… am I the ONLY ONE completely stunned that Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK!?
Where the phooey did november go?!

Want… Gingerbread…. PopTarts….. No… Money… Till… Tommorow… Can’t… Stop… Talking… Like.. Shatner…..

You gotta love the teenage anti-heroes. It never ceases to amaze me the patience that teachers have. Especially the high school teachers. You guys get a Christmas high five from me.

Is that 14 degrees C or 14 degrees F? Because 14 F would be pretty cold for this time of the year… 14 C, not so much…

I dip my McDonalds fries in my chocolate milk shake. I haven’t tried Wendy’s fries/frosties, though.

He who controls the decorations controls the test questions. Give ‘em hell, I say!

Old Jim
14 Celcius unfortunatly, Actually now that i think about it, In 2004 it was 17 C on christmas day, now that was bizzare.

Matt, I have a quick question. I read your mushroom recipe (and e-mailed it to a much greater cook than I - my mother) but something came to mind: …How do you eat it? It sounds really good, but I’m not sure if it’s a finger food or what. =P

everyone! check this site out! they have full wish books and other christmas catalog scans, its awesome!!!! http://www.wishbookweb.com/

I don’t wanna see anyone complain about the weather. I live in Southern California. It was 75 degrees F today. Try getting into the Holiday spirit wearing shorts and flip-flops. Yeah, it sucks.

I’m Mr. Green Christmas, I’m Mr. Sun
I’m Mr. Heat-blister, I’m Mr. 101
They call me Heatmiser
Whatever I touch
Starts to melt in my clutch
I’M TOO MUCH

Knegative I love High Fidelity, it is one of my favorites…mostly because i think john cusack is the shit. also, i too dip fries in frosties, but i havent had the chance to do it in a few years.

Can I ask, what year is this year’s Macy’s review going to be from? Or is it a surprise?

Anyway, can’t wait for the advent calendar; one of the few perks of my web-surfing.

Better rain Cusack moment: “I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen”
At least better movie. But, then, I am a sappy sack.

I’ve gone over to the Santa side. Tomorrow â€“ I begin decorating! I can hold back no longer. I look forward to seeing 1985’s awesome Santa Claus the Movie on a shiny new 42″ Plasma this weekend.

My all-time favorite Cusack line, admittedly non-rain-related, has to be, “Gee, Ricky, I’m really sorry your mom blew up.”

I have a no Christmas until after Thanksgiving rule, but I’m REALLY starting to get pumped for this year’s Advent calendar. No that I think about it, Matt, it’s one of my favorite parts of Christmas now.

You know that I know that Say Anything is the better movie, kb. You have to remember, I’m actually running outside to stand in the rain to do this impression. The people inside wouldn’t be able to hear me say that.

These pop tarts remind me of those molasses cookies I don’t remember the brand but I know they are at the bread outlet store that my Grandma goes to. They are soft with crisp little sugar crystals on the top. I might have to find some in a few days. Those and the vanilla spice egg nog I have in the fridge would be great together…

We got some of the peppermint peeps and while I was getting those (they were at Rite aid, the last place you look always lol!) I just need some Sierra mist cranberry style and some of these damn pop tarts and I’ll be good for a while. I was looking through the Christmas t-shirts at walmart I might get one, but I’ll look through Goodwill first (maybe they might have an old christmas crunch t-shirt there or something you never know! They just took out a couple of weeks ago their Christmas stuff it’s awesome)

I never dipped my fries in my Frosty, I just sucked it up a straw. My ex liked that. A lot.

Terror Ooooooo…! I never did think Santa Claus the Movie looked right on a small screen. Definately a movie that used the big screen very well.

Every Christmas something ginger comes along that I end up eating in an attempt to patch things up with ginger. Ginger and I have never gotten along but I keep trying to bury the hatchet and work things out. It never pans out how I want it to and I end up hating ginger all over again, so I’m pretty much giving up. These dang pop-tarts look really yummy, but I think it’s because they look like cinammon, who I’ve shared a very beneficial relationship with over the years. I love me some cinammon (who doesn’t?). I will not be tricked again this year, dammit. I will not! As far as Pop-Tarts in general, I think my fave is strawberry, especially if it has the frosting. I LOVE Pop-Tart frosting.

JLAJRC, I have a pretty hardcore rule about not messing around with Dr. Pepper. It’s my worst addiction in this life and we have a hot love affair going back many years. I won’t see it sullied with the likes of vanilla or cherry, or chocolate or some other such nonsense.

Steffanio, I TOTALLY agree! The articles where Matt recreates meals are some of my favorites. I would love to see him try to pull that off. One of the first articles I read when I first discovered the site was the one where he recreated the Peanuts Thanksgiving dinner. Genius! That’s when I realized that anyone who would not only recreate the thing, but have such witty things to say about it, has something to say and I wnted to see what other antics he’s been up to. A year or so later and here I am every damn day.

I’m having a good night tonight.
3 girls at the house
full case of beer
watching The Wizard

I went outside to see if I could see the comet that exploded some days ago, and snow was falling! Yay!

DJD: I actually don’t mind the other Dr. Pepper flavors. In fact, in general I prefer the flavored ones to the regular versions (except for cream soda, never cared for that either).

But this one was just NASTY. It was like someone took some cocoa mix and just stirred it in. It tasted like something from a Jones Soda Holiday Pack, not a regular flavor. Good thing it is a limired edition, because no way this would fly. Vanilla is good in a soda, chocolate isn’t.

Ok, i have to be honest. One of the girls is the girlfriend and the other two are her friends.
The beer is Miller lite
but the Wizard is on, so all is right with the world

JLAJRC, A few years ago someone at work got me hooked on Vanilla Coke. I never thought I would ever have liked it cause I’m so picky about those kinds of things, but I really got into it. I still don’t know about messing around with my Dr. Pepper though. Lately I’ve been kind of broke and going for the cheapo knock-off brands and some of them aren’t that bad. Food Lion has one called Dr. Perky that’s actually pretty good.

I love how Bill has 3 (presumably) hot chicks at his place, booze, and The Wizard going, but STILL manages to find the time or need to hop on here and tell everybody about it. These girls are either really cool for being down with the X-E, or you’re just really devoted to the cause here. Either way, way to go for pulling it off!

DJ D - I found that the Walmart knockoff Dew (forget what its ‘name’ is, Mountain something) suits me just fine. Knocks my migraines out just as well as the real thing.

Aw Manimal, you were totally justified in being ticked. The only allowance I’ll grant is that it seems like everyone’s kind of in denial about how late it really already is. But those kids should have shown a little appreciation

Lori, I always used the frosted brown sugar Pop Tarts. The unfrosted side gets the butter, though.
DrummerJay, I feel your pain. It was disgustingly hot today. It’s all the worse because we actually had some cooler weather for awhile there. I already busted the sweaters out of storage

I have to verify the fact that Bill is hanging with three hot chicks watching The Wizard. Only one of them is his (me), but the others are present and cool with him checking X=E in-between nintendo scenes. Thanks for checking for validity!

French fries dipped into a Frosty, eh? Well, I have heard of it for years, but never done it. I think that comes from the fact that my family never ate at Wendy’s when I was growing up. Our fast food selections came from McDonald’s, Burger King, Hardee’s, and the occasional trip to Long John Silver’s. Of course we also went to Bob’s Roast Beef, but those not familiar with central Illinois in the mid 1980s probably would be in the dark. So anyway…

Even though I never had that particular combination I do understand the concept - salty packaged together with sweet.

Hell, as a kid I thought I was an absolute freak considering my behavior when I would go to Hardee’s and order the kid’s meal. I would eat the hamburger first, then save the “legendary” Big Cookie to eat with my french fries, alternating bites between each. I had no idea why I liked it so much at the time, after all I was only eight and the concept of the salty/sweet marriage was a foreign concept.

So yeah, I would probably be all about the fries/Frosty taste if I ever tried it.

Thanks for chiming in, Tara. Nice to meet you and all that. Hello from your 1-20 neighor in Cola-town.

Bill is my new hero. At least till I decide it’s someone else next week. Although, I may have a “Guitar Hero” date coming up soon, so I might be gaining on him in “laides man-ness”. I ran into an old friend that I hadn’t seen in like 3 years the other night and she invited me over to her place for some Guitar Hero action cause I’ve never played it before. Tomorrow night I have a “Grey’s Anatomy” watching date with someone else.

I have this vision of the three of you sitting there as Bill jumps off the couch at the end, cheering and waving his Power Glove in air like a goober. You’re of course giving him some sort of “What in hell was all that?” kind of look.

I have a friend who’s kind of close to Augusta tonight. For the last 3 nights he’s followed Tori Amos on tour from Nashville to Charlotte to Atlanta. I’ve gotten a few text messages from him the last few days. They went, in this order:

“I just met Tori!”
“Look at my new prized possession!” (Attached was a poster she autographed for him)
“I’m on my way to Hotlanta for Tori show #3!”

He’s obsessed with her, and the other night was the second time he had met her. The only time I’ve seen her live was with him and it was 11th row so it was pretty sweet. We’re going to see The Cure next June and that’s my big obsession. This will be my 3rd time seeing them (6th row!). My other big one is David Bowie. I would gladly lay down like $300 tonight, this instant, if it meant I could get Bowie tickets at some point in my life. One day…

I forgot to say something. I enjoy getting curly fries like at Jack in the Box or at Arby’s and dip them in ranch dressing. That is good stuff.

Billy I was just thinking about the Wizard, I saw it on a site I visit daily and clicked on it to download it and it didn’t download for some reason (the other movies I clicked on downloaded it’s just how it happens) but it made me wanna watch it now it’s not on that site anymore and the best I could probably do is watch clips off of youtube or something

I wanna watch Fred Savage pimping out his little brother…

And DJ D I see a train I don’t know quite to call it. But I am Billy’s hero, and now he is yours. Now someone is going to call you their hero. Just a matter of time DJ D

For the record, my house is NOT decorated yet, just the classroom since I won’t see them. It’s still a bit early to do the works at home but we did bust out the Christmas CD’s (Johnny Mathis and Handel respectively) when it got “cold” last weekend.

was i the only kid who thought i was ubber cool with the power glove on and holding the light zapper at the same time? pretended I was like robocop?

The Wizard was actually recently on Comcast On Demand. I think under “Free Movies.” I dont know if its still there, but it may be worth a shot.

I watched it with my son. He didn’t really “get it.” I tried explaining all the subtle nuances - the “coolness” of the power glove, the importance of Super Mario Brothers 3 to my childhood, how Christian Slater was a somewhat respected actor at the time. Nothing.

I have to say, that I’m a bit of a Bah humbug about Christmas until after Thanksgiving. I don’t like looking at the displays or listening to the music, until the day after Thanksgiving. Then I’m Mr. Christmas cheer and enjoy the heck out of it.
I think I fall into that category where to early cheapens the fun. Or, maybe I don’t like that thanksgiving is getting the brush off because all it has going for it is one peanuts cartoon, a turkey dinner and Planes, trains and Automobiles.

On a side note Santa is being told that he can’t say HO HO HO in Australia anymore. Apparently there are a few skanks around that think he is referring to them as Hoes. Perhaps the truth is hitting a little to close to the mark…

Manimal ought to make his students do the construction paper turkeys where you trace around your hand.

Goob, Yes, I’ve been waiting for this person to come along and I know it’s only a matter of time before they show up here. Whoever you are out there, step up! I’ll do my best not to let you down.

On a side note Santa is being told that he can’t say HO HO HO in Australia anymore.

Oh for crying out loud! Ok, now I’m gonna have to go on a little rant. Alright, all you folks out there who are actually offended by Santa saying, “Ho, Ho, Ho!” gather round. That’s right, gather round my little soapbox. Everybody here? Ok, good. Now….GET THE FUCK OVER IT! It’s Santa. It’s what he says. It’s what he’s said as long as there’s been a damn Santa. It’s a friggin laugh, for god’s sake! Oh, and I’m saying Merry Christmas to you mother fuckers. If I don’t know for sure that you’re Jewish or something, you’re getting a Merry Christmas from me and if you don’t like it you can deal with it. I (and most everyone else) hear things like Happy Hanukkah and whatnot all the time, and you don’t see us losing our shit over it. I mean, it’s a friggin’ expression, for god’s sake…..Take your political correctness and shove it up your stocking, ya buncha jackasses!

That’s insane and pathetic. Santa can’t laugh, but it’s still thumbs up for some stranger to let hundreds of kids sit on his lap all day. For all the parents know, the guy could be a raging pervert. He can spread his legs and let a couple of children climb atop his lap, but damn him to hell if he spreads Christmas cheer by belting out a hearty Ho Ho Ho!

South Park was right, before too long we’ll only have happy, non-offensive, non-denominational Christmas music by New York minimalist composer, Philip Glass.

As I turn and look into the sun, the rays burn my eyes.
Happy happy happy, everybody’s happy.
How like a turtle the sun looks…

Our mall Santa got in trouble for the same thing not so long ago. Well, not exactly the same thing. Instead of “Ho! Ho! Ho!” he usually said something along the lines of “Slut! Bitch! Whore!” Also, he wasn’t so much a mall Santa as a crazy homeless guy that hung out in front of the Panda Palace and used to accost the high school girls. But, he did used to wear a red suit. Well, I think that was just blood actually. But, regardless, lighten up GOVERNMENT!

There’s nothing in this world like a bloody, homeless pervert screaming obsceneties at you to make it feel like the holidays.

My ex sent me a text message about 20 minutes ago saying exactly “Dude, I’m freakin out. I’m shopping at Wal Mart and there’s some crazy homeless guy holding a red balloon and he keeps following me around and touching my cart”.

Wow, didn’t mean to set a fire under someone shorts. I just thought it was pretty absurd. Actually the one that got me boiling was some town that said they could ONLY have white lights in there store fronts. No red or green, no holly, no ribbons, stars or trees. and certainly nothing that said Christmas on it.
I think that one got sweep away though when the lynch mob showed up at the mayors door for coming up with such a lame brain idea.

Of course Lowes is calling Christmas trees this year “Family Trees” they didn’t even give them the nod for any Holiday. Proofing error not caught before printing that Ho Ho Ho’s pimply white ass.

to switch gears a little Why hasn’t Matt reviewed that holiest of holy movies that marries his two favorite holidays together? The nightmare before Christmas.

No, no, no! Thursdays, it holding a rubber lobster over the head, and shouting, “No gnus, is good gnus!” outside of Lane Bryant! Egads, the quality of help always goes down duing the holidays.

That’s because they wind up having to hire the rejects from all year to work as seasonal help…
So that means…
Walmart Employee Rejects working during the holidays!
That explains SOOO much.

Meh, I’m having a horrible day. I was up doing homework til 1:00 am and then I get a call that my grandpa died.

I usually incorporate “Happy Holidays” into my phone spiel in December. Personally, I like “happy holidays”, because it’s inclusive to everyone, and that’s just how I roll. But without fail, I’ll always get the person that is horrified that I’m not saying Merry Christmas, that goes into some angry gripe about the peculiarization/secularization of Christmas, and I hate it. I’m as full of Christmas joy as anybody, and nobody is telling me what to say. Just because I choose to wish happiness to everybody and not just the ones opening presents on December 25th doesn’t mean that I’m a humbug under the rule of godless heathens. Quit telling me that it does!!!
Sorry, I guess I needed to rant too

I still need to watch Waiterbot’s latest vlog, but I have to agree with the person who said they really make you start wishing for the X-E podcast. That would be too awesome. I guess I could try listening to Mrs. Sbaitso’s article renditions, but it just wouldn’t be the same.

Crazy my condolences to you and your family. My grandfather died about this time of year 7 years ago. About a month before my wedding.

Goody, DJ D and kingklash: mad points for giving me the hiccups at work. Your comments kept me from going homicidal at work just now.

The ironic thing was this was his favorite day of the year-opening day of gun season

So, upon getting paid I went to my local supermarket in an effort to pick up some of the new pop tarts, only to find they didn’t have them. My wife went to Wal-Mart yesterday, and they didn’t have them there either. She actually thinks I’m imagining the existance of these things. Anybody know where I can find the elusive pop tarts here in Central California?

I bought a box of Gingerbread Poptarts for my sons two days ago and they are ALREADY GONE. My oldest said it was the best. Poptart. Ever. Will be picking up another box for Thanksgiving breakfast.

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