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11/24/2007: Edy’s Christmas Ice Creams!

Hard to believe that it’s been a year already, but it has, and in exactly one week…the saga continues. It’s almost time for X-Entertainment’s 2007 Advent Calendar! If you’re new to the site, look for a history lesson later in the week. Meantime, feel free to peruse the Advent Calendars of yesteryear, which are all required reading if you want to make any sense of what’s coming up in a week:

X-E’s Advent Calendars:
2002! - 2003! - 2004! - 2005! - 2006!
Thanksgiving was nice. Nothing out of the ordinary. I made a slight etiquette faux pas by “calling a wing” early in the day, and after the turkey was carted out, wing-lovers from one tip of the table to the other shot me dirty looks. Worst of all, I didn’t even eat it, and no matter how much I tried to hide that fact by building a turkey wing tent out of side dishes, everyone who wanted one couldn’t believe that I’d wasted mine. I guess I was in it more for the trophy than the tryptophan.

My artichokes went over swimmingly. I’m glad they did, because I will never make them again.

Spent much of yesterday being as lazy as humanly possible, watching DVDs and taking advantage of online sales to get almost all of my Christmas shopping done in record time. Course, some of the sales were so good that I couldn’t help treating myself. I mean, I fought for and won a Thanksgiving turkey wing…clearly I deserved something for that

Not sure if that “something” should’ve been the Seinfeld Season 1 DVD, but there I was, ordering it. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll buy just about anything if it’s more than 50% off. It took me a solid fifteen minutes to convince myself to remove a bread maker from my virtual shopping cart, and I’m still not sure if it was the right decision.

Remember the Halloween Countdown? It was pretty awesome and thorough, waddn’t it? If you’ll recall, one of the few entries I managed to bang out before losing my smile was on Edy’s Pumpkin Ice Cream, a delicious dessert imbued with holiday sprit. It only made sense that they’d do the same for Christmas, and this time, they’ve doubled their efforts!

The new flavors include Egg Nog and Peppermint. The former seems to be adult-skewing, while the latter is obviously more for kids. I have no real basis for that theory, but I’m sticking with it. If you’re over 18, you’re not allowed to have Edy’s Peppermint Ice Cream.

They’re both okay, but I’m not into either flavor enough to pray for them to become perennials. Of the two, I like the egg noggy cream a bit better — it’s subtle, it’s sweet, and it’s one of those newfangled “double churned” ice creams that make me feel like a better person from a higher social class when I eat it.
very pepperminty, complete with swirls of bright red “gel” which provide an extra boost of spicy sugar. If a flavor could ever be called “gimmicky,” this is it. Probably serviceable for holiday parties or random Christmas-fueled weekends, but when you’re just looking to be a gluttonous pig, stick with chocolate.

Pretty sure we’re going back to daily blogging now that the turkey is out of my hair. See ya tomorrow, and have fun SNT’ing!

Don’t regret your breadmaker decision. You’ll think it’s all great for like a month then it’ll just end up collecting dust in the corner.
A spoon does the same thing.

Ooooh–excitement!! I am going to reread the old advent calendars now. I was just wondering what to do with my nothing.

4thed? 5thed? Either way, it’s as far up the comment list as I’ve ever gotten on an SNT.

Additional question: What is up with that “BatRib” thing on yesterday’s spot on the Advent Calendar? Every time I click it, my browser freezes.

That egg nog ice cream looks really good.
Can’t wait for the calendar!!
To any canadians, planes, trains and automobiles is on YTV right now.
Happy SNT!

Seinfeld, huh? I don’t know why but ever since that racist rant Kramer went on it has lost it’s luster. Both because of his rant and when he apologized on the David Letterman Show Jerry barked at the audience when there was snickering. He say, “Stop laughing, it’s not funny.”
You know what Jerry? You’re not funny. God I hate that guy.

I’m so glad you’re discovering these Edy’s holiday flavors. They sooo rock. Never had the Peppermint, but the Eggnog is sweet and creamy and rich, almost like the real thing.

I have a rule. I never, ever shop on Black Friday. I don’t have the money to be buying people the fancy electronics and jewelry on sale. I wait a few weeks for the frenzy to die down, then I go shopping with a friend. I spent most of today and yesterday at work…but I work at a grocery store, so I spent a lot of today and yesterday standing around. Who wants to go grocery shopping the weekend after Thanksgiving?

Has anyone in the pa/nj area tried the tastykake egg nogg pies yet? I have thought about it but I am afraid to tempt fate.

No plans tonight. I’m staying home, and I live alone. I’d be depressed, but I realized the Christmas jukebox is back up. Now I plan to decorate my apartment and listen to Christmas music. I’m in a better mood already.

By the way, what’s with the time stamps? It’s 6:47 Mountain time, which should make it 8:47 Eastern.

i think those ice creams have both been around for awhile… at this time of the year at least.

Bill: Yeah, that Letterman thing was too funny. Totally the wrong forum for an apology like that. Dunno why I bought the DVDs…like the show, but don’t love it.

Wow, don’t think I ever commented on an SNT before, well, not when it’s actually been SNT without the T. Sorry I haven’t been around even though I’ve had the most free time of anyone on here in the last month. Wow, can’t believe 30 days of free time is almost over for me!

Anyway, I just got back to Chicago after seeing my aunt over Thanksgiving in Long Island. My brother went into the city for Black Friday but I stayed behind. I did get out there on Tuesday and finally did one of my life’s goals and that is go and see the Statue of Liberty. It sucks that you used to go all the way up and look out from her crown, but now all you can do is go up to the Observation Deck. Oh well, at least I got to see her up close. Not going to comment on all that.

Anyway, my Saturday is pretty boring. Just taking it easy now. Got Saturday Night Fever on TVLand playing in the other room. Going to the Bears game tomorrow and Monday night, I make my way back down to Central Texas. Got a little lineup of Christmas specials lined up for the season including He-Man and She-Ra on DVD. Found some interesting ones on Amazon. Found out Fat Albert had a Christmas Special so I made sure I ordered that. Now when I order the Easter special, I’ll have to remember to get the Halloween Special so I can be ready for next year. Anyway, I got the Pink Panther Christmas Special and Chipmunks Special (makes me want a hula hoop as much as Alvin does)) and I even got a Ziggy Christmas DVD. Of course I had to get the SNL Christmas DVD as well and I’m looking forward to SNL Thanksgiving leftover special tonight. Oh yeah, didn’t know this but they also had an SNL Halloween DVD which is once again, another DVD I have to make note of and get for next year! Anyway, I’m sorry to babble so I’ll quit for now. Hope yall are doing well, and I’ll have to remember to get those ice cream flavors when I get back to Texas.

Oh yeah, I actually purchased a product that I got from reading X-E. Matt, you were wise to recommend those Gingerbread poptarts. Both my brother thought they were delicious, and I’m the one who bought them and yet he had more of them than I did! Oh well, got to get more when I get back to Texas so I can have them all to myself! Oh yeah, haven’t found the Pomegranate 7-Up but am keeping my eyes peeled!!!!

The Egg-nog ice-cream sounds like it’d be great to try a little but too rich to eat alot at once.

I tried to push that SoCo-laden egg nog on my family for Thanksgiving, but nobody went for it.

Those artichokes look tastey…and I am hungry.
I can only take eggnog in small doses, and ice cream should be eaten in large quantities. I don’t think I could do it. But the peppermint looks good.
I went to the Holidazzle Parade tonight, which is a Christmas parade full of floats with tons of lights. It was freezing and there was hot chocolate and it was fun. I am going to try and get my homework done early tomorrow so I can spend the night re-reading the advent. I was looking over 2002…it’s amazing how you started the advent and where it is now. Happy SNT everybody!

The best peppermint ice cream is either Baskins or Friendly’s. I’m not a fan of any of Edy’s as all their flavors for the most part taste the same.

Just wondering, is there going to be a new jukebox for 2007? Its one of my favorite parts of christmas

Props for the “lost my smile” reference. If only that would happen to the Great Khali…

I have the peppermint, and it’s great. Of course, here in So Cal, Edy’s is called Dreyer’s but same stuff.

Matt, have you tried Stephen’s Candycane Cocoa powder? It has bits of candy cane ground up in the mix.

I was actually eating some ice cream just as I saw this thread. I’m not really a fan of peppermint or eggnog, so I doubt I’d be into either of those flavors. But I like knowing they exist.

I just got done putting up a Christmas tree in my room. It has a real Charlie Brown feel to it. This tree is ANCIENT and the branches kept trying to break while I was decorating it, but I covered it with so many lights and so much tinsel that it looks full and impressive now. And I have a place to put wrapped presents where the dog won’t chew on them.

Billy I watch Seinfeld from time to time and enjoy it. I wouldn’t mind having the complete series dvd’s they just came out with just to have it on inventory. Who cares about what Michael Richards did or thinks. It’s not the most important thing in the whole world.

If you don’t like the show fine, but I just don’t like it when people say oh I’ll never watch that show again because of such n such. Honestly if you like the show watch it. If you don’t, don’t. It’s not that important. Everybody is at least a little racist. And stuff like that happens all the time. The only reason why they show it so much on the news is because it’s interesting to the public. I won’t get on my art of distraction rant I’ll stop now lol.

I have had the generic store brand peppermint ice cream before. Nice, soft, and scoopable even right out of the freezer. I love that! Those types of things make life worth living. Bright pink mint ice cream with little broken pieces of candy cane in it yum! One of my favorites. They should make chocolate ice cream with candy canes in it with a hint of peppermint! I think it was last year I got chocolate mint candy canes they were really good.

Called in sick to work, and I am still in PJs. Slept all day and am missing my weekly poker game right now. I feel bummed being all alone and sick. Perhaps some Xmas music and wrapping some gifts will help me feel better…

Also, no offense to Matt’s glorious christmas jukebox, this last few days I have been listening to the Rock Christmas music station on yahoo radio on yahoo messenger. The great thing about yahoo radio is if you hate one artist or one song you can rate it so it won’t play it again. They have several genres in Christmas music. Traditional, comedy, country, gospel, pop, rock, latin, kids, etc. but honestly about 2 hours is all I can take lol I change to my own personal yahoo station after a couple of hours.

Just sayin’ is all. See you guys in a few hours I have to go do grocery shopping.

Muppet Baby I’m sorry your sick :( I am a bit sick as well, it’s mostly my nose is stuffy and runny and I am just in a foul mood. Yesterday I was hot and achy as well. I felt it creeping up on me about 5pm Thursday night. And I had a sore throat Thursday and now it’s mysteriously gone. I’m still trying to figure that out.

I just decorated my tree, and it also has a Charlie Brown feel to it. It’s only 3 feet tall, and it sits on the table in my dining area. I just don’t have any place to put a full size Christmas tree. Decorating it really got me in a better mood though, mainly because of the star.

Y’see, the star was hand made by my Dad for when my parents had their first Christmas together. They were dirt poor, and they couldn’t afford to buy a star. By the time I came along it was tradition. It went on the top of every tree when I was a kid. Later on, Mom went and bought an angel, and it was nice. It didn’t have the same “feel” to it though. When I was moving out of my parents’ house for the (hopefully) final time, Mom gave it to me as a housewarming present for my new place. For the last three years, it has graced the top of my tree. It’s kind of ugly. It’s made of cardboard, glitter, and a coat hanger. It represents everything that I loved about Christmas as a kid.

I’m in kind of a melodramatic mood tonight. Does anyone else have a sappy story about a favorite ornament or decoration?

Muppet Baby hope you feel better! We have a poker game here at our house once a month, and it was last week, and I was sicker than a dog. I felt like crap, being upstairs in bed, hearing everyone down stairs having a blast. Have you tried that Theraflu “tea”? That stuff rocks if you have a sore throat, but the potential liver damage listed on the box makes me a little nervous..lol

Matt would you be willing to share your artichoke recipe? Were they stuffed with anything, or just baked, or what? I have never even held a real artichoke! Also, the cups your ice creams were pictured in, do they have weird little blue flower things along the rims?

i’m trembling with anticipation about the advent calendar. literally shaking and hitting play on the jukebox.

TNT is playing “a christmas story” starting tomorrow night, and i’ll definitely be there in front of my tv. does anyone know if they’re showing it in HD?

Happy SNT all! So what are on topic about this fine SNT eve? Might I suggest something??? Great…how about your favorite food item from Thanksgiving ever?

Me personally I have always enjoyed Pumpkin Rolls but on the simpler side I think I love deviled eggs. I hardly ever get them anymore and I did not get any this year so that sucked but there is always Christmas to hope for!

Sorry for the DP but I have another topic to suggest. For those who have already started your Christmas shopping…what is your favorite thing you have bought for someone so far?

Cricket: Gonna go with getting my nephew The Office Seasons 1 and 2 for under 25 bucks.

Crazy : Sure! They’re pretty easy. Don’t judge by the pictures — they hadn’t been stuffed OR cooked when I took it.

1) Take your chokes, and cut off the entire stem so that the bottom is TOTALLY flat. Next, knife off about 1 - 1.5″ off the top, so that the artichoke’s top is nearly level. Then use a pair of kitchen scissors to snip the tips off of the especially pointy leaves. If you notice leaves with thorns, snip the tips off.

2) In a food processor, mash up about a full bulb’s worth of garlic and a handful of fresh parsley. (You will use more or less depending on personal preference/amount of artichokes, but it’s not too relevant…just go with what you like.) Then, take that and mix it in a bowl that has twice as much breadcrumbs (I like 4C), along with a good amount of finely grated parmesan cheese, and *several* tablespoons of salt. With artichokes, sodium is your friend. Don’t skimp on the salt, or the breadcrumbs.

3) Liberally stuff the artichokes with the mixture. It’s as simple as grabbing handfuls of the mixture and shaking it out over each choke. You don’t need to fill them to the brim, but since that’s where the flavor comes from, don’t be skimpy. Also, this isn’t science: Just get enough in there to where it looks “flavorful,” and move on. Don’t worry about each particular leaf having its fair share — unless you’re only cooking a few, and can afford to do it with finesse.

4) Put the chokes in a pan. I suggest making enough chokes to fill a pan. The pan MUST have a cover. Fill the pan with water until the artichokes are around 75% submerged. When they’re all settled in the water, drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the tops of each choke. Not too much.

5) Turn the heat on. Bring to a boil. When that happens, lower the heat, but not too much — the water should remain simmering. Keep the top on. The process will take anywhere between 45 mins to 1.5 hours. You’re basically steam-cooking them. You may need to add more water while cooking, but I rarely have to.

How do you eat them? Well, remember Delfa Rolls? Danish Ribbons? Remember how you used to kinda clench down on them with your teeth, and casually scrape off bits of licorice? Artichokes work the same. Take a leaf, put it between your teeth, and pull down, scraping off the warm “leaf meat.” Note that you won’t be eating the whole leaf — just the part that’s soft and less plant-like.

My Saturday’s pretty uneventful, and because SNL isn’t new, I’m passing the time watching one of the best MST3K eps ever: Space Mutiny.

and BJ, are you aware that “A Wish For Wings That Work,” the only cartoon adaptation of Bloom County, is finally on DVD too?

No Norbert, I did not but thanks for telling me. Nice to know someone actually read my last post!

By the way, is the lack of new episodes of SNL due to the writer’s strike? I know because of it, we never got to find out what type of pies Dave’s mother baked this year for Thanksgiving on the Late Show. I hope that strike gets settled soon. I heard that the cast of Legally Blonde did their piece at the Macy’s Parade without their official costumes. At least Grinch was given the green light to go back on, if only for a week!

Geez…it’s way too early in the year for me to be thinking about Christmas music. Maybe in another three weeks or so, but now?

Invader Norbert - I watched that with a group of my friends right before Halloween. Definitely one of the best MST3K episodes, though I don’t think you can pin it on any one thing. Aside from the linking segments (I swear, Pearl kills any momentum the episode has whenever she appears, to the point where she actually sucks funny from the movie), it’s fantastic.

I was too young to see “A Wish For Wings That Work” the first time around, but I’ve become a fan of Bloom County as I got older. I may have to rent and/or buy the DVD to check this out.

BJ - The Broadway stagehand strike is actually a separate strike entirely from the WGA strike that’s screwing with all of the TV shows. That said, you’re right about Legally Blonde - I think they mentioned that in the New York Times article on the parade.

I liked the Edy’s eggnog ice cream, and I can’t wait to get some more. Next time, I’m planning on pouring something on it (probably caramel) to make it even better.

Everybody in my family loves Seinfeld, except me. Just could never into it. Although I saw Bee Movie yesterday and that was pretty good.

The only thing I did today was watch “Jim Henson’s Christmas Toy” on Youtube. I hadn’t seen it in years and it STILL holds up. I want it on DVD. I do wonder if the people making “Toy Story” were inspired by it.

And yes, SNL is suffering so bad, most of the producton crew got laid off. Hell, tonight’s episode is a Thanksgiving Compilation Show (the monologue on now is a very vintage one with Paul Simon in a turkey suit). It’s titled “Family Thanksgiving Leftovers”…Good chance a writer didn’t think that up.

And I’m still amazed a musical of Legally Blonde is able to exist in the first place. It only cements my laments that americans are idiots.

Awesome. I picked up Seinfeld seasons 6, 7, and 8 for 14.99 each at Target yesterday. Now just need 5 and 9.

Happy SNT everybody!
Matt, I bought the SoCo eggnog but I got brandy for the laden-ing and I haven’t been sure what kind of booze/nog ratio to use. I asked a buddy who formerly tended bar what he recommended, and the answer was “Depends on how fucked up you want to get”. Sounded like common sense, and at the time I laughed, but now that I actually want to make a drink it’s not so helpful. Are you mixing by the glass or bowl?
Best Buy wanted $70 for The Office season 1 and 2 as a bundle! I got season 2 for $17 instead, since they didn’t really hit their stride until then anyway. I’m envious of the deal though. Besides the Office set, my favorite gift that I’ve bought so far is the Flight of the Conchords set I got for 50% off. I also gave in and got myself the Rome season 2 set as well, though to justify buying it I think I’m going to have to wrap it and put it under the tree. Still looking for a good price for the Lost season 2 set.
I may have asked this in earlier years, but I’m curious to know if this is a common tradition or if we’re just really weird: Did/do all y’alls presents come from Santa? Or do you get presents from the elves, Rudolph, Mrs. Claus, and the whole crew? Or do you just get boring old “From: Mom” presents? Not only did we get presents from everybody at the North Pole, we’d get presents from people related to the gifts. Like, if I was getting a Beatles CD, the tag would say “From: Paul”, that kind of thing. Does anybody else do this?

I have been out of my parents house for 3 years now, and I am 22 years old, and my mom still labels all of our presents as being from santa. i fucking love christmas.

squee4242: My gifts always came from “Santa”, until around ten years ago when it got changed to “Mom & Dad”. I think once there were no longer any kids around on Christmas my parent’s decided to mix it up.

RE: Saturday Night Live’s Thanksgiving special tonight. I am really liking it so far. I just saw Will Ferrell chew up food and spit it into Chris Parnell’s mouth. That was so disgusting I may not be able to eat for a day. They also showed Sandler’s Thanksgiving song. So far so good.

MattWow thank you so much for typing all that up! I am going to attempt to make your “stupid” artichokes for Christmas. I am printing that bad boy recipe out right now. Your family dinners must freaking rock if everyone in your family cooks and puts as much effort in as you do!!! If no one gave you the acolades that you deserve, consider yourself acoladed!

squee4242
Whenever I got “special” presents (Like big ones like the USS Flagg) they were from “Santa”. I think I had a few from Rudolph, too.

Paul W.
What’s the beef with Christmas music? I started the Mannheim Steamroller on Friday!

I got my tree up this weekend..somebody asked about sentimental ornaments: I have a Sebastian the crab little plush ornament from McDonalds (From the Little Mermaid) that is always the first on the tree. Don’t ask me why. I also have a cranberry garland (fake Cranberries, of course) that has to always go on the tree. It was inherited from my parents. And I’ve got several other ornaments that were yearly gifts from my Great-grandmother that she gave to all her grandchildren (and there children).

Heck, I’m big on routines and traditions for the Holidays, period. Certain movies I have to watch, music I have to listen to, etc. Of course, I do that with everything.

It has rained here all day. A cold, nasty, biting rain. I’ve had a fire in the fireplace and I love it.

Can’t wait to see what Mare and the gang are up to this year! Happy SNT!

I can’t believe the Advert Calendar is five years old! Honestly, it’s what I look forward to most at Christmastime.

1) Favorite Thanksgiving food is a tough one. The pies are the tastiest, hands-down, but we don’t have that as part of the real dinner. For actual dinner foods, I think sweet potatoes are my favorite. We don’t candy them or make a casserole or anything, just baked and served with butter. We eat them all year, but they always taste best right around November.

2) I can’t say my favorite thing I’ve bought because it’s for someone who reads X-E from time to time. However, I got one friend Optimash Prime and another one a Domo-Kun calendar. I also got my mom a set of Elvis Pez dispensers. She doesn’t like Pez, but she loves anything with Elvis slapped on it, and I know she’s never seen those before.

squee4242: My presents were always just from whoever they were from. Santa was just in charge of filling stockings, which was kind of a ripoff since my stockings only contained candy. I like your family’s idea though, it’s cute. Although I’d find the idea of Paul McCartney (or any other non-Santa entity) sneaking around my house delivering Beatles CDs slightly unnerving

squee:
Mine were always either “From: Santa” or “From: Mom and Dad,” with no real distinction based on type of gift. (Except Santa always brought the “big one.”) I find it fascinating that you’d get presents labeled in such a way. I want to do that so bad now, because it’s a great idea. Your family is awesome.

Favorite Thanksgiving Food: It may seem sort of strange, but my favorite Thanksgiving dish is my Mom’s macaroni & cheese. I grew up in a home where mac & cheese is served at most family holiday dinners, so it holds a special place in my heart. I know now that many people don’t consider it to be a “traditional” holiday dish, but damned if I don’t love it. Thankfully my lady loves it as well (from eating with my family over the past five years) and she considers it to be a required dish when we cook a big meal together. It appears the tradition will live on.

I haven’t started Christmas shopping yet, so I can’t really comment on the second question. But hey, this can still be constructive. My girl and I always have stockings that we put out every year, but during the past year or two we have been horrible about actually getting things for each other to put in the stockings. Last year neither of us put anything in the other’s stocking. I would really like to change that this year.

My lady is a 25-year-old special education teacher who loves Winnie the Pooh, anything Disney, Gray’s Anatomy, The Office, Country Music, and Pez.

Does anyone, especially the ladies, have any great stocking stuffer ideas? I would appreciate it so very much.

On the subject of favorite Thanksgiving food: Deviled Eggs. I make ‘em, and I’ve been told by my Godmother that I’m not allowed to come with them to Thanksgiving if I don’t! This year I made 79…Running your hands under water to peel eggshells for 40 minutes is NOT fun! But damn, they tasted/taste good!

Thought of you last night when I heard the opening song for Christmas Vacation from the TV in the other room.

I am SO EXCITED about the Advent Calendar. I spent like a whole day rereading the previous Advent Calendars after Waiterbot’s first couple of vlogs went up. It’s sort of become one of those things that automatically make me feel all Christmassy, like a tradition…I hope it continues through the years, if the fates allow.

Err…I will stop rambling and making lame Christmas lyric references now. By the way, I never quite worked out exactly how to pronounce “Kuse.”

Daily blogging?! Awesome! I can’t wait to see what Matt’s got in store for us. The Advent Calendar is drawing near too! Wheee!!!

I just ordered a pizza from Papa John’s because it’s one of the two places that deliver my way since I’m on the outskirts of town; the other being Domino’s. I only chose Papa John’s because you can order from their website. Domino’s makes you call and talk to real people, which I like to avoid at certain times. It was barely edible, but pizza nonetheless. I’m spoiled from my regular local pizza joint.

That would be the infamous “Bird Family” sketch. And it was a nice treat to see the Superfans (damn, that food looked good), a “Loud Family” sketch from Early Years, Adam Sandler’s first Thanksgiving song (the tradition would indeed live on in every near-thanksgiving show for at least the next 4 or 5 seasons), as well as an Ed Grimley sketch.

If you think these past few seasons were unfunny, you must not have watched it during the early 80s. I at least laughed at some of the more recent sketches, but I do love Martin Short’s acting and delivery, and until Mr. Wilson and his dad showed up, it was just him speaking this crazy monologue.

Back to the Bird Family sketch, it ranks as one of the Grossest SNL Sketches of all-time, at least in my book. The others on my list:

-Cluckin’ Chicken
-Crystal Gravy
-The Puking Sketch
-and Massive Headwound Harry (which is, incidentally, one of my favorite sketches of all-time)

As for presents, yes, I had the “From Santa”, epsecially when I was a kid. I still get a few with that now, just for kicks & giggles from my parents.

Although there was one present many years ago that may actually have been “From Santa”: a Yankees Christmas Ornament. My parents had no idea how it got there, or who bought it, but it was there under the tree that year.

Also, there was one Christmas Eve night/Christmas Morning where I definitely heard a faint “Ho Ho Ho” coming from somewhere. I was scared shitless, I kid you not.

Cameron T.: Deviled Eggs! Hell yes. I love them. Earlier when I replied that macaroni & cheese was my favorite Thanksgiving food I actually had to debate with myself on placing that beloved dish above deviled eggs. I brought three things home from my parent’s house (as leftovers) after Thanksgiving… 1) Spiral cut ham 2) Mac & Cheese 3) Deviled Eggs.

I made them for the first time this past summer when my lady and I hosted a 4th of July party. Just like you said, spending extended periods of time at your sink, peeling boiled eggs, is not fun. They turned out great though. Thankfully my lady baked a lot of cakes during her high school years so she had a kickass set of decorating tips (for icing) that worked great for piping the filling into the eggs. It was actually one of the most complimented things that we served.

I made about 40 of them and I know the work that went into it, so I CAN FEEL YOUR PAIN.

Onto a different topic, is anyone out there looking to buy a gift for a child in their life? Maybe a kid somewhere between 5-12? I found this…

… on sale at Amazon.com a few weeks ago and thought I would have enjoyed the hell out of that when I was a kid. Basically I have been searching for a kid to buy it for just so that I would have an excuse to try it out. This thing rocks.

are you kidding? the peppermint stick is THE BEST flavor! unfortunately i’m in australia now and no peppermint for me unless i make my own.
sigh
michelle (who is definitely older than 18yrs old)

I just about bought sme Evan Williams brand egg nog today, I was at my local CVS and there it was on display for seven bucks a bottle but I passed and now I am wishing I would have bought some but with Indiana’s liquor laws I can’t buy any because it is illegal to buy alcohol on Sunday uless it as at bar that serves food or a winery. Guess I’ll just have to settle for plain jane rum and coke.

Invader Norbert: I loved Massive Headwound Harry. The skit that I remember better than the others was the one where Linda Hamilton was the guest star and the dog was trying to rip the bloody mess from Dana Carvey’s head when he was having a rest on the couch. That is probably still on VHS at my parent’s house somewhere, lost forever on one of my 200 unmarked tapes from my childhood.

I also really loved the Superfans too. I live in Chicago… so I’ll only say that it rings fairly true. Exaggerated maybe, but pretty damn true.

Mmmm… polish sausage… Ditka…. sausage… ‘da Bulls… pork chops…. sausage… ‘da Bears.

Ack I wrote a long reply and it got eaten by the “slow down cowboy” message!

Anyway, Magic Toy: These are a bit big for stuffers, but Walmart has a great set of Disney Princess Pez dispensers. Also the Disney Store carries some small character plushes for about $6.50 each. You said she’s a teacher - does she do art projects with her students? If so, she might like a gift card to Michael’s or some similar store. Teachers usually need all kinds of supplies and end up paying for most of them out of pocket. Also, if she is into bath stuff at all, Bath & Body Works carries mini-bottles of scented lotions and shower gels for about 5 bucks a pop.

I thought everyone here should know that I saw Christmas Story ornaments at Walmart and CVS today! The Walmart ones were pretty basic - Ralphie’s head with a banner that says “You’ll shoot your eye out kid!”. The CVS ones were a bit more expensive high-end ones, but they were great. One was of the leg lamp in its crate and the other was of the kids lining up behind the frozen pole.

I always imagined that Kuse was pronounced like the ‘cuse portion of Syracuse.

squee4242: egg nog to liquor ratios do vary by taste, but a good ratio to start with is probably 3 to 1. you can always add more, of course. spiced rum, brandy, and whiskey are all traditional mixers, though rum tends to be the most used. though i guess there’s no Cap’n Morgan brand egg nog out there…

The skit that I remember better than the others was the one where Linda Hamilton was the guest star and the dog was trying to rip the bloody mess from Dana Carvey’s head when he was having a rest on the couch. That is probably still on VHS at my parent’s house somewhere, lost forever on one of my 200 unmarked tapes from my childhood.

If I remember right, there was only one Massive Headwound Harry sketch, and the dog part is from that one sketch.

Well, I guess that would explain why I remember it so much better than the others. It is easier to remember things that existed, as opposed to things that you assumed happened. I really only remembered that one skit. As much as I watched SNL back then I assumed I must have missed a few. I guess I should have had more confidence in myself and my memory.

I also vow to try egg nog this year. I may have tried a sip or two in the past, but nothing that stands out. I will purchase some this season and try to enjoy it, even if my girlfriend has pretty much guaranteed that she won’t touch any that I buy.

Muppet Baby I woke up feeling sick myself this morning, but oddly got better. Honey and lemon in hot water should work well for a sore throat, tho, instead of risking liver damage.

Favorite Decoration: spaz307 I love stories like yours about the star. Since I don’t have room for a tree, I have only one ornament that I pulled out of storage for Christmas, that being a basswood reindeer my mom made when I was three. I don’t know why I like it so much, other than one of my earliest memories being of watching my mother paint and assemble the ornaments in our small basement apartment and the smell of the paint. Even when everyone else wanted to toss all the basswood ornaments later on, I insisted on hanging the reindeer every year. And now its mine.

Favorite Holiday food: my mom’s stuffing, without a doubt. Second would be green bean casserole.

So its ‘cues’ instead of ‘coos’…darn, I’ll have to correct my inner pronunciation checker!

LOL, thanks Rainbowfeet! Actually Mom tried to get lazy a few years ago and drop the whole gag, but my sister and I were adamant about keeping the tradition.
jazzy, you’ve got it wrong. Santa’s still the one delivering the presents, he’s just bringing stuff from the whole gang

Magic Toy, Target had a lot of awesome Office stuff in the dollar section not long ago. Magnets, notepads, Dwight’s head stress balls, all would make good stocking stuffers. I also really like some of the Disney figures you get for a buck out of vending machines. There’s a series of “Pooh in costumes” figures that are adorable. The Disney Fairies line is cute too.
Thanks Carpeteria! I’m going to give it a try right now

Turkey Hill has been doing Egg Nog Ice Cream for a few years now, and I love it.

I’m having a real hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year. Mostly because my Fiancee and I are depressingly broke, but also probably because it was 60 degrees here yesterday. I’m all about Christmas though, so I’m trying to shake the bah humbugs and get into it.

My favorite Thanksgiving food would be my mothers stuffing and my pumpkin pie equally…and I say mine cause I am the only one who bothers to make home made, not cause it’s better than anyone else’s home made pie.
I have bought nothing this year, but the adults decided to draw names this year. I am all for it. Trying to buy gifts for my well off uncles is pure torture. I just hope I don’t draw any of their names.
I was just downstairs at the pizza place I live above and I locked myself out of my building for an hour. I called the police to see if they could get me in. Turns out if you do that they send a fire engine with blaring sirens and all. I felt like an idiot and they didn’t even have anything to pick a lock with. So, they used a massive ladder and broke into my window. The whole time they kept the lights flashing. It was so hilarious and embarrassing at the same time.

Hey Matt, how is it Mare’s mom showed up last year when in 2003 its stated repeatedly that she killed and ate both her parents?

Moony, my theory is, if someone can go through Puberty in the Advent box, and Mare herself could come back to life in one, then her mom could too.

BJ I’m jealous, I keep looking for those poptarts and can’t find them.
Magic Toy Your family is awesome. I wish macaroni and cheese was part of my family’s holiday meals. If I ever bother hosting or contributing to holiday dinners in any way, I’m definitely making that.
squee4242 I’m ridiculously excited about getting the Flight of the Conchords set, but I’m holding off until I get a job. Or until someone else buys it for me at christmas, whichever comes first.

Today was such a sad day for me. It was the final closing day of my FAVORITE store at Zern’s which is always stockpiled with toys, collectibles, and all kinds of various goodies. I made my final purchase… a complete box of sealed Nestle Wonder Balls, a few more Disney ice cream bar stickers, and an X-Men logo ring. Next weekend all the leftover stuff (misc action figures, crates of California Raisin keychains) is getting auctioned off so I guess that will be my final goodbye. ;.;

THEN tonight was the final show of a really great local band that’s been around 22 years. My chick friends wanted me to hang with them, but I was all, “Nooooo I’m going out with my guy friend, cuz I haven’t seen him in 4 weeks.” And the motherfucker never showed. Over 8 hours I was there waiting, and he didn’t even fucking call. *sigh* But at least when I got home there was a nice note from my OTHER chick friends saying how they can’t wait to hang out with me tomorrow.

I thought this might be the year to try Egg Nog, but I keep talking myself out of it. The very thought of a drink with the word “egg” in it scares me. However, I have decided that should I happen upon fruitcake this will be the year I take the first taste. No one in my family makes fruitcake so I’m going to ask everyone I know if they have fruitcake in their pantry. I’m intrigued, and I blame it on a Christmas short story I just read based loosely on fruitcake.

Some of my presents growing up were labeled from Santa some of them were labeled from Grandma and Granddad. Some were actually labeled from Fifi. Fifi was the family dog my aunt gave my Granddad for a present, the dog died when I was in high school.

I don’t remember the difference between the gifts from Santa and the ones from my Grandparents. I think the things that I didn’t ask for but they kinda knew I wanted were from Santa, the stuff that I asked for but they said “I don’t know if your getting THAT you’ve asked for so much already!” and then boom I get it. That was pretty sweet. But the problem is, they checked off the list and bought the things I asked for, but my other relatives most of the time were in the dark and got me stuff they thought I wanted, sometimes it was the jackpot (like art supplies) but sometimes it was just crap (girly stuff, need I say more?)

With the stocking, well, it wasn’t all candy. Sometimes it’s money, I know my sister got a cassette (when they were still asked for) I remember the dreaded ORANGE in the stocking! I bet those were great when my Grandma was growing up but geez who wants FRUIT in their stocking!

How I found out there is no Santa, I woke up at about 10 in the morning, and I walked into the living room looking forward to a stocking, and all three of them (I have two sisters) were empty. I thought what happened? Did Santa forget? I think I thought my Grandma was going to make a few phone calls and straighten it all out. Well, I walked into the family room (you walk through the living room from that side of the house to go to the family room) and I told my Grandma (who was doing the crossword puzzle in her nightgown in her recliner like she has done every morning since I can remember) and she said oh I’m so sorry, stay here! And she closed the door so I couldn’t see what she was doing. I heard some noise and I opened the door to follow her (I didn’t know why she had to close the door) and I saw my Grandma, in her nightgown with a brown paper bag, filling our stockings. I was dumbfounded. I know my Grandma probably felt pretty awkward too.

I think we probably also got in our stockings NES games and those life savers christmas books. I saw a garfield one today at big lots. I think they sound like a good idea until your scarfing down the second to the last roll and by that time you vow never ever to eat another life saver again.

At my house, toys and the fun stuff all come from Santa, unwrapped (and appear Christmas morning in the living room), and the clothes come from Mom and Dad, wrapped, under the tree.

Was “Space Mutany” the one with the ‘filmmakers’ using old Battlestar Galactica ship footage and running it backwards? If I recall correctly, it was so obvious Mike and the Bots didn’t even comment on it. Although they made comments about the warehouse basement filling in for a ship’s lower levels and a dead character reappearing as an extra later on in the film.

I actually watched the “Legally Blonde” musical when it played on MTV and it’s actually pretty good. I have yet to see either movie, though.

Favorite Thanksgiving Food: I LOVE DRESSING, whether it’s homemade or the boxed “Stove Top” type.

Favorite Decoration: One year we made a “Superhero Christmas Tree” which was decorated with comic book/Star Wars Hallmark ornaments. Hallmark ornaments are basically the coolest things ever to put on a tree.

No one seems to have mentioned this yet but i couldn’t help feel there was a line missing in the middle of this…

“that make me feel like a better person from a higher social class when I eat it.
very pepperminty, complete with swirls of bright red “gel” which provide an extra”

Either way i can’t help but feel egg nog flavored ice cream would taste sickly, but i could be wrong.

Matt, I commend you on having the balls to call the leg early in the night. I stared at them both when I came back for my 3rd helping and wimped out and didn’t get it. I got a few scraps and some more dressing instead. I’m still dreaming of that GIANT leg, wishing I could tear into it like a caveman. I’ve only had artichoke hearts, not the whole thing, but those things look amazing. After reading the care you put into them, I agree with what someone else wrote–if your whole family puts that kind of work into dinner, it must be some kind serious production.

I don’t think I would be too much of a fan of either one of those ice creams, but then again I’m one picky eater anyway. I tend to stay with the traditional flavors–chocolate and variations of it, but occasionally will throw caution to the wind and go with sherbert…you know if I’m feeling crazy.

Seinfeld is still my favorite show of all time. I had the first season on DVD but sold it along with a whole bunch of DVD’s that I hated to part with a couple of years ago when I was really hard up and needed rent money. I think I’m going to eventually get the giant box set that came out that has the whole series. It’s worth it alone for the commentaries, especially if you’re a Seinfeld fan. Yeah, this writer’s strike is a bitch. I keep getting bummed out during the week at 11:00pm cause I keep expecting a new episode of The Daily Show, but no such luck.

I still get presents “From Santa” to this day. The idea of getting them from other folks in the North Pole sounds like a lot of fun, and I wish we would have thought of that back then. Oh well. I might have to pull that on my kids one day, if I ever have any. I discovered that the jig was up with Santa when he decided to write me a note one year. I always left milk and cookies out for him with a note, but one year, the big man actually wrote back! My joy was soon over when I wised up and realized that his handwriting looked suspiciously like my mother’s. I guess at that age I was starting to wise up anyway, but was in denial. That note pretty much clinched it though. I never told her I was on to her, until I was a teenager. Those last couple of years I was just kind of playing along.

I spent a good while last night catching up on old Advent Calendars. I’m about a third of the way through 2005. Hopefully I’ll be completely caught up with the rest of it tonight. I’ve been pronouncing Kuse like Goose. I guess that’s a little off, but I’m sticking with it.

I know Matt shares my Baroness crush, so wanted to mention that it’s being reported that Sienna Miller has been cast in the role for the live action GI Joe Movie.

garrison, that’s definitely Space Mutiny. One of the best episodes ever. “Sir, it was really nice of you to give that dead girl another chance.”
We never had any distinction between “Santa” presents and “Mom” presents. Maybe because we all realized where they really came from and were just playing along. The best part would be when you’d get drafted to wrap a sibling’s presents and get to make up the tags yourself.
DJ D, I’m missing The Daily Show and TCR like crazy. I can’t wait for them to resolve the strike. I can deal with my other shows going into reruns, but I need my fake news fix. Plus, I read that if they don’t work out the strike soon, Scrubs might not get a proper series finale, and that’s just not right.
I had a glass of boozy eggnog last night. It wasn’t horrible; the liquor cut some of the richness of the eggnog, and the sweetness overpowered the bite of the booze. I wish I’d gotten rum instead of brandy though. Probably would have tasted better, and I wouldn’t have an almost full bottle left over that I have no idea what to do with.

Matt, is Knacks going to make regular updates to his Myspace page during December?

Squee Bill Lawrence said he is doing everything he can to give Scrubs a proper finale, even asking NBC to do a short season 8 or do a direct to DVD edning if the strike doesn’t end soon (which it looks like it may not)…the worst part: NBC has announced Celebrity Apprentice will take the place of the Office and Scrubs at 9pm on Thursdays starting in January. Dammit. Here’s hoping it all gets resolved to everyones favor so all the good shows this year can get back to work; it’s been a great year for TV. The guilds meet again on Monday….

Matt,
You just reminded me that my mom bought the Edy’s pumpkin ice cream that everyone hated even though we all love pumpkin pie and other pumpkin flavored food and drink items. So it’s still sitting in our freezer pretty much untouched. Like you, I spent my whole night last evening watching DVD’s that included an odd mix of Sesame Street Old School Vol. 2 DVDs and Paul McCartney videos.

I just found a stack of several sealed DVD seasons for the Sopranos and other shows. I have no idea who they’re for, they’re not wrapped, unmarked, don’t know where they came from and no one is looking…

Oops - falling asleep and not checking in on the thread isn’t good when you leave conversation threads hanging.

Cameron T. - I don’t mind the Christmas music, but I get sick of it after about two weeks. I’d rather start my two weeks later in the year.

Shuanfu - I hadn’t heard that about Scrubs. Thanks for the info. I’m hoping the strike gets resolved soon because I want my TDS and TCR back, but I’m more worried about a few of the new shows. I don’t know if Chuck and Pushing Daisies will survive the strike if it’s a long one, and it’d be a damn shame if they didn’t.

What the hell, Matt? Peppermint icecream is the quality. If you’re wondering what quality exactly, the answer is goodness.

Wow, I can’t believe I have been following the Advent since 2003! It just wouldn’t be Christmas now without Knacks, Kuse, Mare, Waiterbot, Mista Snowman, and James Lipton… I can’t wait until Dec. 1!!

Thanks for the pronunciation tips! Now I can read the Advent Calendar without that nagging at the back of my mind every time I read the name.

That peppermint ice-cream is good with a little chocolate syrup or ovaltine, and some coffee. Looks hideous though.

Anders, i noticed that too, i think Matt wants us to learn about Jupiter’s moons :/

Dammit. I wrote a huge post before work, went to work, and came home to find that it never posted!! Grrrrr.

My mom still does Santa hardcore. My boyfriend and I go back home, my brother comes home with his girlfriend and we all play along. Nobody goes in near the tree on Xmas Eve when the lights go out. We “kids” watch Xmas movies in the other room before bed..in the morning, there are “new” gifts there labeled from Santa! I always love the look of NEW gifts, in their NEW paper.

Favorite Thanksgiving food has to be STUFFING. When the hell else do you get to eat that much stuffing??

Yeah! Amazon was just raping my wallet the other day. The Office Season 2 and How I Met Your Mother Season 1 for $12.99 each? Ca-ching! Not to mention they just recently added season 1 on Denver the Last Dinosaur so I nabbed that too.

That peppermint ice cream would be amazing with tons and tons (oh say…half a bottle?) of Magic Shell. Mmmmmm…

Open the 23rd day and scroll up/down quickly… It kinda looks like at AT-AT, but it could also just be that I’m a total loser… Yeah, that’s more likely the case.

Just bought myself the LEG LAMP from Christmas Story…well, in Xmas tree ornament form, anyways.

I’ve tried to figure out the three pages hidden in #23, and I’m pretty sure most of the words and sentences are anagrams. (The file name on one of the pictures also seems to be an obvious hint.)

Well, not sure about anyone else but I’m still recovering from Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. I did get some good deals yesterday though - including a Spider-Man 3 mini-statue, a Kingdom Come Superman figure and a Venom t-shirt for like $27 or so from FYE. I also ordered some stuff on-line and pretty much wrapped up the Christmas shopping.

@Magic Toy- What about Disney Pez? I’ve seen the Pooh characters and the Princesses around lately. Bed Bath and Beyond had a collectible Hello Kitty Pez set with 4 clearish top (crystal? not the normal opaque plastic) character Pez dispensers in a HK lunchbox that were pretty inexpensive. Also $1 Spot at Target has all these Hello Kitty and Disney Princess notepads and magnetic notepads for the fridge.

Depending on your girlfriend, I know Target has by their Xmas stuff, the cute toys for $4.99. My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop sets in plastic tubes. I also saw movie Transformers and Doodle Bear Animals (Penguins, Polar Bears) in clear plastic ornaments to be openened. I’m a girl, I thought they were adorable but it depends on the person.

Haven’t seen the 2007 Target Exclusive Winter Ponies, Matt,anyone, know anything about these? Are they making them this year?

Just wanted to thank everyone for the stocking stuffer ideas. I will definitely look into some of them.

DJ D I totally had to get rid of almost all of my DVD’s last year to pay for food, gas and rent….it SUCKS ASS. luckily enough, the fiancee is a genius at tracking down and downloading movies and then burning them for me. The only real DVD’s I still own are Fight Club and the Royal Tennenbaums. Cameron T. I totally have that exact same sebastian plush mcdonalds ornament hanging on my tree as we speak…I have flounder keeping him company. My favorite ornaments are ones that I bought the first christmas I lived on my own: They are glass ornaments of characters from rudolph the rednosed reindeer….one is yukon cornelius and the other is the snowman. I am hoping that an abominable snowman ornament exists AKA: Bumble. My favorite line in the entire special is when Yukon Cornelius says “Bumbles BOUNCE” and I feel like Yukon is without his significant other when my tree lacks the Bumble.

And MATT Why is it that when I look up “batrib” on google I get this website: http://www.geocities.com/heyelvis_97/BAtrib.html If you are some sort of Bryan Adams minion….then I think I will have to cut myself until I bleed to death…..

http://www.geocities.com/heyelvis_97/BAtrib.html perhaps that will work….if not, I definitely encourage everyone to search “batrib” on google. It really gives meaning to the word “demented”

Yeah. I hate being without my own internet. I dont like typing on my PSP. My mom does the santa gifts too. Like the big gifts.

Getting back to the SNL most grossed out moments, and I think that because we are still in the same thread, I can still comment about it, I would have to add to that list the parody commercial for “Handi-Off” and “Swill.” “Handi-Off” is about Victoria Jackson and her problem with having too many fingers so she uses this ointment with leprosy and within three days, the extra fingers fall off and they show the fingers rotting off the hand (pretty sick). Swill has Bill Murray pouring mineral water that was taken straight from Lake Erie and delivered in the bottle. As he pours, a beertab pours into the glass as well as other garbage.

Okay, I’m thankful someone mentioned the Super Fans sketch that was shown on SNL last night. I fell asleep during the show and when I read about it on here, I ran to my TV and rewinded to that sketch. I have had a tendency to fall asleep during either the first song, or shortly after Weekend Update. Never thought that maybe it would help if I taped the show so in case I do fall asleep, I can watch it later. Anyway, I remember that sketch, it’s from 1991 and boy has it aged. First of all, Ditka was their coach, which he hasn’t been since 1992, and they talk about other unfortunate teams such as the Indianapolis Colts in which they call a “terrible team.” Obviously, this is before the Tony Dungy/Peyton Manning days. By the way, I’m sure you all know that one of the little kids in the pilgrim bit was Macaulay Culkin and I think the other one was his kid brother. Anyway, Bob Swerski was played by Chicagoan and the former barfly known as “NORM!” from the Classic TV Series “Cheers” (my favorite sitcom and one of my favorite shows of all-time) George Wendt. You all should know Chris Farley when you see him, another Chicagoan, and Carl Molarski (they guy with the dark hair) was Robert Smigel. I was almost about ready to say Joe Mantegna but he was Bill Swerski in the original Super Fans sketch. If he was Carl, I would have been able to say Mike Meyers was the only Super Fan not from Chicago, and I have no clue where Robert Smigel is from. Anyway, great sketch and has many good memories even though it’s dated. I don’t think they can praise Lovie Smith the way they praised Ditka even though without the old man, George Halas, there never would have been a Ditka!

Okay, as long as I’m on the Bears theme, let me just let everyone know that I was at the Chicago Bears/Denver Broncos game at Soldier Field in Chicago today. I’m not going to go into the game details because that’s something for the blogs on FoxSports.com, but it was great, the Bears 37-34 in overtime, and the seats I had were awesome! I tried doing what my dad did three years ago. I was on Leave from my first tour in Iraq and wanted to go to a Bears game while I was home. My dad called the Ticket Personnel and asked about special seats for military personnel. Well, we were able to get three tickets at a fairly reasonable price. This time around, I did the same thing and got two tickets that were better than the ones we had before. I was sitting first row in the endzone behind the back red marker. The Bears ran to that endzone during the second and third quarters. Actually, a better way to say it would be I was at the endzone that said Chicago because the other one said Bears. I wouldn’t say the seats were the best in the house because anytime the drive was deep in the other zone, I had to watch the plays on the big Jumbotron because I couldn’t see where the ball was going because I was about the opposite end. Anyway, they were good seats, by far the best I’ve ever sat at a Bears game and the game itself was the best Bears game I have ever seen and I’ve been to five now, three Bears wins and two losses. I can see that there are advantages to being in the military to get the seats I got.

Anyway, I’m starting to ramble again so I should wrap this up. So my long Leave time is about to come to an end. I leave tomorrow night and drive down to Central Texas and Ft. Hood. I’ve done it before so it’s not anything new for me. Got myself some more Gingerbread poptarts because I stopped at a supermarket to get detergent without bleach and they had a sale for the poptarts, 2 for $5. This will keep me satisfied in the event I don’t find any down in Texas. One bad thing though, still haven’t scored a bottle of Pomegranate 7-Up yet. I don’t know if Texas will fare any better but I’ll be on the hunt. Anyway, that’s my post. Sorry I rambled on but I hope I got a couple of you to read all the way through, or at least skimmed through and are now reading this as their last line from my post! Cheers, okay, THIS is the last line, SORRY!

Hey everyone, I need some advice. I just signed up for Netflix and I added Christmas Vacation to my queue since I haven’t seen it. What other Christmas movies would you guys consider essential viewing? I have most of the major cartoon Christmas specials, but I’ve seen very few actual feature-length Christmas movies, and I’m pretty in the dark about them.

The only people drinking the (nonachoholic) eggnog at Thanksgiving at my house were a 9 year old and a teenager. None of the people who could legally drink the “real” stuff were interested in the least.

Might say more about how it’s more of a Christmas drink than a Thanksgiving one.

Just saw Fred Claus last night and the fiance and I agree, it was pretty good. Not great by Christmas movie standards, but pretty good. Recommendable at least. I’ll probably buy it when it comes out on DVD next year, but I’ve been deemed a “Christmas movie whore,” so that might not be saying much.

jazzy: Do they have One Magic Christmas? It was a Disney movie from the 80’s that is a family favorite. My dad cries every year. Definitely a Christmas classic.

Edy’s has a third holiday variety too, Gingerbread Man. I saw it at Wal-Mart tonight alongside the other two.

I’m watching the ‘Making of a Charlie Brown Christmas’ with Whoopi Goldberg, which is on the ‘I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown’ DVD…and just had a weird sense of deja-vu from a still picture of Schultz at his drawing table in 1961.

Back in 2000, I got the exact same drawing table free from the Air Force. Damn, I regret selling it to that ex-roommate two years ago now. Not that I’d have any room for it, it would have been in storage, but it would have been nice to say I still have it.

And just to add to the weirdness, I have those stuffed Snoopy and Woodstock dolls Whoopi holds for the whole thing, too.

jazzy, in addition to the ones already mentioned, I’d add Home Alone (1 and 2), The Santa Clause, and Mickey’s Christmas Carol. Can’t think of any others I’d consider absolutely essential.
Cheers, BJ. Good luck and have a safe trip down to Texas

Jazzy Bad Santa, funny as hell, but you have to be the type that isn’t too prudish.

And to all, I just saw a commercial for Build a bear workshop, for a limited time you can “build” a Clarice and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Clarice is the girl deer for those that take a while to catch up.

When I was watching tv I made a snowflake. When I unfolded it in anticipation I instantly realized what I did. I think I need some new things to do.

BJ: I watched the Bears game today and it was great. Sure, we may not make the playoffs this season, but still, a come from behind victory like that makes some of the pain tolerable. Glad to hear you were at the game and had a great time. I was one of the earlier posters talking about the Superfans skit last night. What can I say? I’m from Chi-town too. I also sort of groaned at the reference to the Colts during the sketch, sort of feeling as if karma finally got around to kicking us in the nuts last February. I’ve never been t a Bears game yet, but I swear every August that this will be “the year”. Next August will be no different.

I haven’t been able to find any Pom. 7-Up in the area either. I’ve only checked a few stores, but you are not alone in coming up fruitless (pun intended) in your specialty 7-Up search.

Sorry to hear that your leave is up. Stay safe and come back soon. When you’re back we’ll meet up at Arena on North Ave. Beers and wings are on me.

jazzy: Your Netflix que suggestions have been solid so far, but I want to send you a warning. Sometimes holiday themed movies can be hard to get in season. Last December I waited all month for Scrooged, and it never came. I have been trying to show my lady that movie for a couple of years now, but refuse to do it if it isn’t somewhere between Dec. 15-24th.

I learned my lesson waiting for it last year (from Netflix) and ordered a copy from Amazon.com yesterday. Netflix may come through for you, but if there is one movie that you MUST watch this season, you may want to make other arrangements. I am convinced now that some people check out these movies in mid November and don’t return them until after Christmas.

As of last night Scrooged shows as a “short wait” on Netflix. That may translate to “available on Dec. 27th”.

I always thought it was weird how my father had the same handwriting as Santa Claus. I STILL didn’t figure it out that it was the same person until a few years later.

Apparently it is “cyber-monday” and today is the day to get better deals on Amazon than last Friday. I don’t know, that’s what is in the the NY Times this morning. Also it looked like there was a midnight stampede in a NYC Circuit City early this morning. You weren’t there, were you Matt?

Finishing up some business here in W.Palm and I can’t believe it but lights on palm trees have grown on me. I didn’t think it was possible but fake reindeer and Santa on the roof of a tiki hut really gets me in the spirit. Mele Kalikimaka is on constant replay in my head.

I think I finally realized Santa wasn’t real when I was eight, but I pretended to believe (just in case I was wrong and he was real) until I was 11. Even then I didn’t come right out and say it, but from that point on my parents used the overly-perky voice for the word “Santa.” So it was like, “Maybe you should ask Santa for that for Christmas!” It just became a family joke. But they still write “Santa” on the gifts they didn’t feel like wrapping because they were too weirdly shaped or whatever.

And does anyone know where the hell I would get a bonsai tree?! I’m getting one for the fiance for Christmas, but I don’t even know where to begin looking. I know there are websites for them, but I would prefer to find it offline.

Continuing my theory on the pages behind the 23rd window, the filename for the main pic is an anagram of “Red Herring”.

One out of the many pics links to Wiki’s entry for “Number of the beast” and another links to a National geographic article about irish bog men having manicures :/

There’s a hidden pic linking to a page called RATSEE, which is an anagram of “teaser” and on that page is a weird picture with the text “RATGET” under it, which is an anagram of “target”.

Also, RATGET, has “lady in white” written next to it (reference to the movie?), but not all of it is visible, you have to highlight. Now we all know Matt loves to shop at target, so teaser for something from target maybe? I could be way off, or this could all be some sick joke on Matt’s end haha.

Someone may be able to figure out what that picture is, the filename is “literallyistooeasy” so yeah.

jazzy, I second Magic Toy’s warning about Netflix. It can be a bit dodgy getting stuff sometimes. I requested the Superman: Doomsday animated thing that came out like 2 months ago and as far as I know it’s still on “short wait”. I haven’t looked at my queue in about a week though so that might be different now. I’m glad you brought this up though, cause I was kind of wondering about putting together a list myself. And yeah, Scrooged is an absolute must see. Top priority.

Today was just a solidly good day. I don’t have many days where I can say that, but it was just an all around good day today. Wow, you know what, it was actually yesterday, but I’ve been up for so long I didn’t realize the time. Holy crap, it’s Monday and I’m still up! I gotta get to bed!

Anyway, yeah yesterday I got up and went to work only to find that we had been so efficient on Fri. and Sat. that there was literally only like 4 hours worth of work to do. After about 4 hours we were completely out of work, and got to go home early. At this point it was 11:30. I decided on a whim to go to the movies, so I went and saw Lions For Lambs. Great movie, really though provoking. It does a good job of arguing for and against the war equally without really taking a solid position one way or the other. After that, I came home, watched some TV, and took a nap. Woke up in time to watch Desperate Housewives and then got a text from a friend of mine who I work with that he was out at a bar near my house and that I should come join him. So, I went there and spent a few hours just sitting there and talking about work and music and stuff. Then after he left, I was settling up and about to leave and ran into another friend who I haven’t seen in about 4 years. We ended up sitting there for another hour or so talking about music as well. Then I came home, and hung out with my roommate for a bit and watched TV, got on the computer and caught up some more on Advent calendars, then hoppped over here to see what was happening on the thread, and here I am. It’s about 7:45 and I haven’t been to bed at all, except for that mid afternoon nap. Now I HAVE to go to bed, cause I have a job interview at 3:00 today for a second job. Man, I’m totally screwing up my sleeping cycle. Oh, one more thing. This is kind of cool. Before I left to go to the bar last night I was watching A Christmas Carol on AMC. When I got back from the bar and sat down at the computer a few hours ago, I turned on the TV and there it was again, exactly at the same place where I left off when I left like 7 hours earlier. I guess they were running a marathon of it and I timed it just right. Well, that was a sign as far as I was concerned so while I was reading Advents I finished watching the rest of it. It’s the one with George C. Scott, and was pretty good. I had never seen it before. Well, I’m off to bed. Swear to God.

So, I’ve been pronouncing Kuse wrong for over two years now? The way I see it, if Matt can make up a name, I can make up how I read it in my head. Kooze it is. Sadly, I think it’d be too much work for my brain to change it now.

Matt are you hiding something about the end of the world that rest of us would benifit from knowing? Don’t be doomsday hog, it’s Christmas. Hopefully it’ll be Christmas.

There’s a proper way to pronounce “Kuse?” I thought it rhymed with juice… But it’s “cues?” Like, “In England they stand in queues, and in America they stand in lines” or pool cues? Hmm….

Magic Toy: Yeah, I’ll be back for Christmas. Can’t be away from home over the holidays now I can be. Of course, I gotta put up with all the protest about the Department stores formerly known as Marshall Fields. Yeah, I’m refering to “Messy’s” I mean “Macys!” Sorry but the thought of Macys in Chicago has blueblooded Chicagoans thinking hell froze over. No, the Cubs winning the World Series will be when hell freezes over, Macys in Chicago must be the coming of the AntiChrist. It’s especially bad in my family because my grandma worked at the Marshall Fields downtown for years so it’s always been part of my family. She’s living in a home up in Conneticut now and when I was out in New York, my family all saw her, feisty as ever and of course, the talk of how bad Macys is doing has this petition going out about bringing Marshall Fields back. Of course, Fields wasn’t doing well for years before Macys bought it out anyway.

Anyway, yeah, don’t think the Bears are going to the playoffs this year. I hope we get the game next week in Texas. I hate the fact that they have a Thursday Night game coming up, and that game will be on NFL Network. Why do you put NFL games on a station that only 13 people actually get? Unless you have either Digital Cable or satellite, you’re can’t get it! Well, in Chicago it will probably be on a local channel so I’ll probably have to go to Buffalo Wild Wings in Killeen to see it. I don’t think they will have this Thursday’s game between the Cowboys and Packers on local TV even though I believe Killeen/Ft. Hood falls under the Dallas market.

North Ave? How far is that place you were talking about from LaSalle and Clark? The church I go to, Moody, is right across the street from the Historical Society on Clark and North so I know North Ave. very well. I almost went to Round Lake Beach on Saturday because the Score (WSCR 670AM) was having a Blackhawks party at the Buffalo Wild Wings located there. Granted, I just wanted to go to meet the Ice Crew which consists of young scantily clad women who do nothing but skate on the ice during a TV timeout and shovel loose pieces of ice. By the way, I happen to be a Hawks fan as well and am VERY happy with the way they are playing this year. Anyway, bottom line is I didn’t go. Oh well, already saw the Hawks played this