The X-Entertainment Blog!

03/02/2008: Poker victories and dog-faced cats.

We went to Altantic City for an overnight visit this past Friday, and for the first time in history, I actually won. After spending several hours getting violated by every slot and table game in the Tropicana casino, the trip was shaping up to be just another in a long series of colossal failures. And then, it happened. During a late night game of Let-It-Ride poker, I nailed four sixes with two fifteen dollar bets in. That's $30 x 50, plus a $400 bonus bet payout. Jibberish poker lingo, but the short version is: Happy Matt.

The win was worth almost two grand, and even with my many follies earlier in the evening, I came home more than a thousand bucks up. So marked the only time that the ride back from Atlantic City wasn't footnoted by the foul ambiance of regret and guilt. I have no solid plans for this modest fortune, but since I'm speaking of a financial gain on the Internet, I obviously plan to donate everything to starving children with baaaad diseases.

We headed out to the boardwalk on Saturday, ultimately landing at one of the many 99 cent shops that I've covered in past Altantic City-related articles. For the most part, it was just the usual gamut of generic foodstuffs, obsolete soap brands, shell-themed ashtrays and breast-shaped coffee mugs.

I wanted to tie a bow around the weekend by coming home with something worth writing about, but there are only so many times a person can scribble about odd soap and titty cups before they bore everyone around them. Fortunately, at the last moment, I found a certain something that's totally worth paying a backwards tribute to…

At first glance, this Animal Playset just seems like your everyday, run-of-the-mill, cheapo set of plastic animal toys. And while that's technically a correct description, it's also a description akin to calling the tip of the Sistine Chapel "a ceiling," or the moai statues peppered throughout Easter Island "rocks."

The oddity seemed only rudimentary at first: Why were cat and dog figurines packaged with a plastic palm tree? We could fry many robot brains trying to conjure an answer, but the truth is, that alone wasn't enough to make the Animal Playset worth writing about. I looked closer.

"Wait a second…those aren't cat and dog figurines….they're dog-faced cat figurines!" I was elated! We were getting closer to a shitty toy worthy of archiving. I inspected the still-packaged playset some more, hoping to find additional graces. The next thing I noticed were the odd pair of toy rocks that came packaged along with the dog-faced cats and palm tree. What significance these rocks hold will be forever lost on me, but at the same time, I knew that I couldn't genuinely point to them as the piece (pieces?) de résistance. If the Animal Playset was to go down in history as one of the worst dollar store toys ever, it needed to blow my mind without even trying.

That's when my friend pointed out that the included plastic playmat, which seemed to detail a simple grassy area for the dog-faced cats to march around the palm tree on top off, was actually the biggest mindfuck at all. As my friend took an inquisitive hand to his chin, he turned to me and spoke softly: "Hey, why the fuck is there a pterodactyl on this thing?"

No longer forced to string dog-faced cats and palms trees into cohesive incohesiveness, this final feature took the Animal Playset to a previously unreached echelon of oddball royalty. The playmat not only features a pterodactyl, but also a brontosaurus, along with a hippopotamus, lion and various farm animals, roaming together through a series of fenced-off grassy lands. Either Hammond had a hand in this, or the Animal Playset is an entity for which the rules of time and science do not apply.

Let's review: Dog-faced cat figures tugging a palm tree across a countryside filled with cows and dinosaurs, with free bonus rocks. It's the kind of catalog description that means more than a photo ever could. I love the Animal Playset, and I have every reason to. It's successfully mutated cats, it's pushed palm trees to a higher level of grandeur, and it's given me ammunition for nights filled with dreams of brontosaurs and lions playing freeze tag together.

The fact that the playset's shelfmates consisted of porn-themed playing cards and last year's assortment of Marshmallow Peeps notwithstanding, this was the absolute best way to bookend my most successful Altantic City to date.

Before heading home, we sat out on a boardwalk bench, soaking up the cool breezes and reflecting on the weekend that was. Then some random guy waltzed over with a giant bag of buttered popcorn and poured it on the ground, inviting a nearby flock of seagulls to turn murderous. We ran. We ran so far away-ye-yay.

Matt, congrats on the win. I hope you asked for it all in one dollar bills and then filled a briefcase with it!

The first thing that struck me about the playset was that cow on the plastic sheet, it's the only thing that seems aware that it's there as it stares at you with those disapproving eyes.

Those are some kick ass CatDogThings, but I think that the place is actually the secret love hideout used by Dr Moreau and Hammond when they want their little 'fun' together. Walking through their little abomination farm, arms interlinked as John points his cane at a flock of 'dactyls carrying kite tails with streamers, Moreau nuzzling his beefy head into Hammonds shoulder. Small cat-faced dogs playing by their heels.

Hooray Matt!!! Great win! I'm thinking of hitting AC this week maybe…..I dunno. You COULD go on one of those busses next time…the ones you pay 20 bucks a person then you get it back in gambling money or a buffet. You can blog about the crazy old people on the bus with you.

I remember one time I won $3,000. Then I figured I would really test my luck and try a few hands in the high-stakes poker room. Let us just say . . . it didn't go well.

I'll put it this way: It is a damn good thing that the sporting goods store was out of rope, handguns, and hunting knives.

Mandy: Believe it or not, the woman and I DID take one of those buses in. My friends (the drivers) were coming later, and we didn't want to waste the day. It wasn't too bad. They played RV on the several little television screens very loudly, and everyone complained about what a horrible movie it was, but other than that, bonus. (And yeah, the bus cost $28, but we got $25 back in Trump Plaza cash and another $5 in food comps.)

The way you immediately follow news of your thousand dollars financial gain with a picture of a 99 cent store is priceless.

Here's my weekend adventure: My friend and I were traveling to the grocery store. It was a beautiful day yesterday, so I had the sunroof open. At a red light I decided my windshield was dirty, so I pressed the wash button.

Yeah, we got sprayed with windshield-washing fluid through the sunroof. Classic.

Congrats on the big win, Matt. And double congrats on the mindfuck of a toy. All the surreal delight of an original painting by Dali, and it only cost you 99 cents? That is true victory!

Oh, Hammond, will you never learn??? Your fences are worthless, life finds a way.

Wait…I get it. It's supposed to be a depiction of the natural history of the world, showing the progression from the dinosaurs (in the background) to the cows (in the foreground). Perhaps what you are meant to do is collect more variants of the sets, to allow you to take this profound statement about evolution and the march of time to the third dimension…and maybe, just maybe those dog-faced cats are a glimpse into our own future! Genetic engineering gone mad! It's a sobering warning for those ages 3 and up.

Matt, this is the most important thing that I have ever posted. Are you listening? Good, take $100 of your earning and pre-order the Hasbro Cloverfield Monster toy. Clicky http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/ProductsByBrand.htm?BR=863&... to see its gloriousness.

The cats were strange enough, but the playmat just totally blew my mind. Maybe it was made by some fundamentalist Christian group that believes we once lived amongst the dinosaurs… Or maybe they were just tripping balls when they made it.

Hmm, it says that I’ve already posted this but it isn’t showing up for me so here it is again… maybe.

Oh Darth, I'm totally buying that toy. I don't like the stock pictures on the Hasbro site, but the Toy Fair pics seemed a lot grander. I can't for the life of me figure out the $100 price tag, unless it's actually a lot bigger than its given dimensions seem to portray. Still, whatever, it's the Cloverfield monster. Needs it.

Though, some people are wondering if the $100 version is just some kind of souped-up toy in a bigger box, and if Hasbro isn't going to release the thing with less awesome packaging at a cheaper price. Personally, I doubt it. I don't see the Cloverfield monster toy being on the shelves of Toys "R" Us. (Actually, it seems so strange to me that Hasbro is even behind this: Seems like so much more a Sideshow/NECA kind of license.)

Hasbro claims that this is going to be the one and only Cloverfield thing that they make… I can see through their lies. I can’t figure out the $100 price tag either. Maybe it’s to make up for the price they had to pay to get the rights to make the thing. I was also surprised that it was Hasbro that was making it, though now that I think about it they are starting to cater more to adult fans what with the Real American Hero 25th Anniversary line and figures of the six titted dancer… 2008 is going to be a good year for toys.

This deserves article-ness. The Alantic City adventures are my favorite theme of articles.

Supervisor: we've got left over vinyl from all these inflatable pool basket ball goals (that suck), what do we do with it?

Random designer guy: how about printing up a playmat and using those lead based plastic cat-dogs?

Supervisor: get right on it and use all the litho plates we shot for those farm and dino playsets!

I have yet to either win or lose at a casino. I usually get back what I put in. Of course, since I'm a cheapskate who never gambles more than $20 at a time, I wouldn't get a whole lot even if I did win.

It could be just me, but it seems like the only thing you can still get for 99 cents or a dollar at a dollar store is a candy bar. Everything else is above a dollar. Plus, they seem to be getting rid of stuff like animal playsets in favor of stuff people would actually use/want. Pretty soon, a dollar store could sell the same stuff you can get at Target/Wal-Mart/etc for the regular prices. I find that sad.

Damn,Matt got to play Let-It-Ride, the game I was trying to play yesterday. Of course, there were probably 10,000 times more tables at the AC casino then the two that were at the small Oklahoma casino I was at. Oh well, congratulations Matt! Your $2,000 winnings make my $200 winnings at Three-Card Poker and Blackjack look like chump change. Don't know what to say about the toys since it's been a long time since I collected any (unless you count DVDs which seem to be the closest thing I have to toys, okay, and video games).

I was suspicious of the Hasbro Cloverfield monster, and stated my suspicions in a thread several weeks ago, but now that there is a picture to go with the product, I'm less suspicious. However:
A.) Why are they waiting until September before they release this product? Wouldn't the hype be pretty much extinct by then? I mean, it's essentially died down to nothing by now… Unless it has to do with the release of Cloverfield on DVD…
B.) Why are they charging so much for it? I can think of two possible explanations for this: either it is a highly-detailed, "collectible" item, or "hasbrotoyshop.com" is a third-party vendor unaffiliated with Hasbro® toys, that is charging more than you would be charged in a store.

Matt
Congratulations on your win! I haven't been to A.C. in 10 years, and the last time I went down there, I only played $40 on the slots. I'm such a wimp when it comes to gambling.

I wish I were old enough to get into a casino, let alone gamble. Exactly one year from today you can find me on a bar stool or losing my money in a casino, woo hoo!

Congrats on the win Matt! I hate when people feed the birds in a public area, then they think everyone has food. People like to feed the ducks in the pond next to my house, now they waddle up to me whenever I go out in the yard for something. Like they couldn't waddle their asses back to the pond for food.

Congrats on your winning!

After reading this post I cannot wait until weather is nice enough to take a trip to Atlantic City!

I am not a gambler and do not gamble, my other half likes to gamble so we go our seperate ways for most of the trip! I just go there to walk the boardwalk! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, ther boardwalk! The dollar stores! The ocean! The endless junk food stands! Boardwalk on a nice warm, sunny July day! I cannot wait!

Congrats on your win! I love seeing those dollar stores. Not sure why.
I have never won anything so far as gambling or lotto goes. But I still buy power ball tickets all the time. Did anyone else see that news clip of those two that just won? The man that wanted to buy his wife a Lexus and she unenthusiastically chimed in, "No, a Mercedes." I cannot explain it well enough, I guess you had to see it.

I swear, this year will be the year I actually go to Atlantic City! I missed going with my friends the other week because I had work. Should just grab someone and take the bus up once it gets a little warmer.

kb: You reminded me of a news piece I saw this past week of a National Guard soldier winning a million dollars from a scratch-off lottery ticket, and yet he's still being called up for another tour of Iraq. That's funny, I could have sworn that I was told if you make so much money, you can't serve in the military. Guess it goes to show you how badly the Army is hurting for soldiers. Thank God I only have 21 months left to serve. I know it sounds like a lot, but it'll be here awfully quick. Once I find out they'll be asking me to re-enlistment, I'll know how bad they need soldiers since I just signed a Statement preventing me from Re-enlisting or going to any more schools. Why did I sign it? To get out of going to Recruiter School, a job I never had ANY intention of doing for the Army because all a Recruiter is is basically a salesperson for the military. I KNOW I'm not a salesperson because I too opinionated and I tell the truth! Yeah, I'm sure to raise the number of enlistees into the military with my recruting skills. I've already been to Iraq twice with another tour ahead next year, which is supposed to be only Kuwait this time but rumors are going around that we'll end up back in Iraq for a THIRD time! Guess parents will know the answer real quickly of whether their kid will go to Iraq if they join! Sorry about the ranting and off-topic post. Just got too into it after being inspired by a Lottery story. Speaking of which, guess it's about time for me to head out and play some Bingo. I know I have about as much chance at Bingo as I do at winning the Lottery, but I've actually won at Bingo a few times. Let's hope it happens again today, especially since I can really use the money!

Yer old buddy TCC checkin in again. Still miserable and achy. Whee! Killed most of today watching old Nick reruns and Robotech. Wow, I've wasted a lot of my life it seems.

My PDA tracks how much time I've spent playing Demon Solitaire. Last year I racked up the equivalent of 6.5 days in that game, and that's just time I was wasting during boring meetings. I'd hate to see the total stats on my video game and tv time.

Matt, just thought I'd throw in (and likely at some point throw up) that I've found a Kinder Surprise alternative for toy-in-a-chocolate-egg.

Kinder have always been big here, but lurking in my local Tesco supermarket there were eggs by a company called Zanni from Italy.

Two things of note about these eggs:
1) It's supposed to contain a Simpsons character and the foil wrapping has the Simpsons logo and Bart all over it.
2) It has an expiry date of 2010. The box in store was half-empty and had a delivery date of 2006. The copyright on the packaging though is marked 2004. I fear trying the chocolate if it's supposed to last that long, I know I'm paying for a quality experience!

I too was at the Trop on friday, however, instead of hitting up the tables or the nearly 3 million jackpot progressive slots. I decided to sit in a crappy bar that charges $2 for a game of pool and $5 40oz crap beer. All together it's a sure fire way of ending your night quick.

Congrats on the win, I've lived near AC my whole life and all I've walked away with is about $50.

Guise
In the UK, which has better casinos, Brighton or Blackpool? Or somewhere else?

Old Jim, in my opinion neither…there's a lot of bingo parlours though, if you want to gamble against a granny.

We don't really do big casinos, but that's due to change thanks to law changes, all of ours tend to be tiddly little places. Heck, anything here is tiddly!

Holy cats, it's really been three and a half months since the last article? Where's this year going already?

As someone who deals casino games I congratulate you on winning a game most people don't win. (Or have the sense to leave after winning.)

However, why did you play the bonus? Its such a bad bet. (Actually table games tip 1 is to NEVER PLAY ANY OPTIONAL BET. They all have terrible odds, especially compared to the main game. Sure folks remember their 30 to 1 Pairs Plus hit on 3 Card Poker. They don't remember the 40 times they lost that bet getting there. (We will count other smaller wins as their own win/loss column.)

Anyhow.. yeah that Cloverfield toy is a bit too pricey for my blood. Maybe Japan will make a Bandai vinyl figure in their usual 4-6" scale for a 10-20 dollar pricepoint? Then he can chill with Godzilla and the gang.

For a C Note even a 14" tall battery powered 70 points of articulation megabeast is a bit out of my pricerange. Especially with Doctor Who Minimates coming along. Minimate Captain Jack Harkness can hit on Cyclons, Marvel, AND DC characters all at once!

Though I wonder if Minimate Admiral Cain would be more likely to beat up Cyclons or Daleks..

Side note: Mathematically, the "side bet" in Let It Ride is the biggest sucker bet in a casino.

I have read several strategy guides that talk about the side bet being a sucker bet. And yeah, it totally is. On the other hand, it's $1, which in the grand scheme of the progressively more-expensive casinos, is virtually nothing. When I started going to AC, there were hundreds and hundreds of quarter slots with 75 cent maximums to be found. Now there are almost none. Even if I know I'm going to lose 99% of the time, the side bet is cheap/fun enough to let slide. (Plus, I would've killed everyone in the Tropicana if I hit four-of-a-kind and didn't have a lousy dollar chip in the red circle — it was worth $400!)

Also, I can see staying all-in if you're three to a straight flush, but I really disagree with the common strategy of staying in when you're close to certain straights or high flushes. I tried it out for a little while on Friday, and got totally pounded. Losing $10-$15 on a bet is one thing, but $20-$30 stings twice as bad. I almost never keep my first bet out unless I'm dealt a paying hand to start.

I have nothing to say about gambling, but holy crap those cat statue things are bizarre. I also love that the mat clearly features a paved road and a fence, meaning that this world contains not only pterodactyls and cows side by side, but also modern civilization. Priceless.

Funny you guys should mention Shamrock shakes. The McD's where I work just got them in recently. Since I'm a training manager, I get to have 'em for free! And my birthday is only two weeks from tommorrow! It looks like it's going to be a great month!

Yeah someone was saying all McD's are gonna have Shamrock Shakes now. Wikipedia says that all of Canada has em now, too. Of course, it also says that Uncle O'Grimacey, Grimace, and Mayor McCheese are going to be on spots in Nickelodeon this year, so really, who the fuck knows.

Speaking of casinos, my college ran a "charity casino night" and I did pretty well on the craps table. It was 10 minutes after I left the table did some other guys swoop in and score big wins.

Is that a river of lava flowing through the playset playmat? It makes it even more remarkablous!

Congrats on winning in AC. I was there today and ended up only losing $5.50, so it wasn't a bad day.

I play poker with friends every Saturday night. So far this month, I have placed 2nd and 3rd, earning me around a hundred bucks. Loved reading this.

Wow, I know everyone else has said it, Matt, but congrats on the win. I've never been to AC or Vegas or anywhere like that but I'd really like to. I can see myself staying all day at just the blackjack tables. I think I would probably get some guides and just practice at it for a while before I went, to get the feel of marathon blackjack play. Looks like tons of fun.

God, the dog-faced cat thing looks absolutely bizarre. We've got dinosaurs, farm animals, mutant cats, lava, and signs of modern civilization. What surreal Lost World type of scenario is this taking place in? Maybe the free rocks could double as dice and you could make some sort of weird game out of the whole thing. Notice that in the first picture the cat with the black fur looks a little distressed.

I completely did't make the connection till just now that you were quoting Flock of Seagulls while showing us a picture of a flock of seagulls. I mean, I got the quote right away, but didn't make the connection at all. I'm really kicking myself right now. I'm usually a lot sharper than this. Guess I'm just really tired after Dj'ing my gig last night and theeeen the afterparty. Gotta go get some coffee.

Speaking of weird toys, I was at Wal Mart the other night and saw some new re-issue of the Milennium Falcon. It's not exactly the same as the original (I always wanted one, but never got one when I was a kid), but it's pretty close. The sucky thing about it though is that it comes with these ridiculous, kiddie, unrealistic looking versions of C3P0 and Chewbacca. Actually, now that I just looked it up on the net to get a good picture of it, the whole thing is ridiculous. Here it is:

Any die-hard fan of Star Wars would not seriously consider buy this model of the Falcon, just because the action figures are so disproportionately designed, all squat, and way too large in comparison to the ship… After typing all of this, I saw that the target audience is 4-8 year olds - boy is my face red!

DJD and Old Jim: For some reason, it's popular at the moment to take toys, make them cute and cuddley, and miniturize them. Besides the various Star Wars/Batman Lego toys, we also got something called Minimates that are super popular. If you don't know what they are, just click on the website below.

All us east coast X-E'rs in the NJ PA CT NY area, should get together at AC one day and play a little and browse the dollar stores. Top it all off with a day at Wild wood….

I'd be all up for meeting anyone from X-E in AC. Fuck, I'd be ready next weekend, though I should really be saving my cash for the NYC Comic Con. It seems to be approaching faster than I thought.

I wish I could go to the NYC Comic-Con…it turns out I'm busy for at least the first day of it.

LOVED this post! It brings to mind "classic era" X-E adventures such as the "Green Bamboo Mystery Peanut" and the various quests for Bulbasaur!

To JLAJRC: The problem is there's alot of stores that have "Dollar" in the name that aren't really "Dollar Stores". They're more like "Cheap Crap" stores. Although, Dollar General currently sells a line of generic Ninja figures, that I find fantastic.

To Dj D and Old Jim: I rather like the Super-Deformed Star Wars figures. I hope to see SD versions of other classic movie characters.

To mandy_Reeves: I love that idea (I live in PA)! Not sure if I'd be able to make it though.

Matt, I also congratulate you on your big money. I've only gambled twice in my life, both times at Bally's Wild West (hey, it's two blocks from the bus terminal!), and both times I won no more than $10. The first time, it got my then-boyfriend and I bus tickets home; the second, it got me $10 worth of junk for me and my best friend from the gift/$.99 store next door.

Ah, the Wild West. I used to go there a lot, but Bally's fell out of favor with my friends and I once The Borgata shuffled in and inspired most of the other casinos to get a little fancier. I haven't been to Bally's for a long while, but it started to feel really tired there.

The Trop is great because it has a pretty diverse bunch of bars, from the standard fare to the fancy fare, and even an Irish pub. Great restaurants, too. We're probably gonna try a different place next time since we've done Trop to death. (And they reorganized the casino floor in a really odd way. Hard to explain, but they mashed all of the good table games and slots together into one really crowded area…a little too hectic.)

Really, really, really want to revisit my youth and go to the Taj Mahal again. I've heard they've been doing some serious work in there, but we've always considered its casino as one of the coldest in the city. But! It's in a great location on the boardwalk, near all of the best and weirdest shops. We'll see. I'm in no rush to go back, because odds aren't on me winning twice in a row.

theres a new NIN album… thats right a new NIN album… its 36 tracks of instrumentals… you can download the first 9 for free from the website, or pay 5 bucks to download the whole thing… but thats not the best part (if your willing to spend a bit more)… i shan't spoil it for you, go see for yourself…

So this is how it goes: I intend to spend the entire night cramming for a math exam, decide to take a breather and browse X-entertainment. I stumble (insofar as stumbling goes when clicking the blatant "blog" button) and I read about what will go down in history as the most bewildering and yet spectacular toy I've seen in ages.
You had me at the palm trees, Matt. Dog faced cats, pterodactyl, hippos, cows…this is clearly the eden of lead-infused plastics if ever I saw it. It's glorious and terrifying and I dearly dearly want one now, for something of such haphazard construction must hold some sort of magical power. Its a key to something great- It must be- and I think somebody must solve the enigma.

Holy god. This is going to sound made-up, but I could not possibly be speaking a greater truth. Here in the office without much to do, I was tooling around in the X-E blog archives, and I found that the blog topic posted by Matt on October 27, 2006 was simply the

emoticon. Nothing too outlandish about that, right? WRONG! I got myself seriously fucked up in a car crash on October 27, 2006. In fact, I didn’t make it. I died. I was clinically dead at the scene of the crash, but, obviously, had life breathed back into me by medical personnel. I’ve been meaning to post about that unfortunate turn of events here on the X-E blog for many months (it being one hell of a story and all), but I’ve never had occasion to do so. In fact, that fucking wreck is what has kept me from regularly posting on the blog for the past sixteen months.

It’s altogether possible that I may have never gotten around to posting about it (after all, what would anyone care about a near-death experience of mine way back in ’06), but seeing Matt’s blog entry on that particular date has freaked me out. I guess that maybe Matt was feeling sad that day, but he didn’t know exactly why. Like maybe it felt like a small part of him died that day. Or maybe he got food poisoning at Taco Bell. Who the hell knows? But still…creepy coincidence, no? Someday soon, I will post a detailed account of the entire episode (the circumstances that led to me being out that night, the crash itself, the nature of my injuries, my stay in the hospital and all the humorously embarrassing occurrences that accompanied it, my physical therapy, my return home, the whole ball-o’-wax) for everyone to marvel at. In the meantime, though, thanks for caring, Matt.

Guise, there is a bunch of those knockoff Kinder Surprise eggs here: Simpsons, Super Mario Bros, Baby Huey, just to name a few. The chocolate is sub par, and toys are the same in all those eggs - they are really not worth your time

.
The only decent alternative to official Kinder Surprise eggs are those Mickey Mouse/ Disney Princess eggs made by Nestle. They are a bit more expensive than Kinder eggs, though, and all the toys come in one piece - there's no assembling them.
And this ends my Kinder Surprise report for today

.
Wait, it's not over!

I simply must rant about the quality of toys today - the stuff we had back in the day (Smurfs Village/ Soccer team, Pink Panther, Duckburg Safari, Mickey's Orchestra, the original Asterix and Obelix…) is much more innovative than the stuff they offer these days - (moles as secret agents, Funny School, those magnetic soccer playing animals etc). I'd really like to get back to collecting those toys - now that I have a kid of my own and a legitimate excuse to do so

- but the toys have lost their appeal to me.
OK, rant over!

You're making me want to play Let-it-Ride now. Normally I play Craps or Roulette.

I remember the Smurfs, Pink Panther and Asterix toys, I was always breaking Panther's tail.

I picked up some more toy eggs today, Hello Kitty, Dora, Spongebob and Scooby Doo. They also had Bob the Builder, Fifi and the Flowertots, and Roary the Racing Car (as well as another version of the Dora egg).

Hmm… gotta start calling schools today about signing up for medical coding and billing classes…and I need to find a part time job to hold me over once unemployment runs out. Can't do fast food or retail, since I have a really bad back and knees, which is why im choosing to have a career where I can sit most of the time.

Matt: Congrats! While I don't gamble and have never been to a casino in my life, I have to say your AC posts are my personal favorite. Next to, of course, your Bulbasaur quests and your ill-fated trip to Maine…er Pepsiland.

Could the Ghostbusters handle an alien invasion? We know they can handle ghosts and monsters, but what about aliens?

Sorry, Guise, I forgot to mention - here is in Serbia

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Those Bob the Builder eggs were a great disappointment as well - instead of a toy of sorts, all we got was a fridge magnet featuring, I think, Bob and Wendy, made in the style of those puffy stickers.

JLAJRC: Only if the MiB help, which I guess is overkill at that point. ^^;;;

I like the plastic rocks and palm trees. Especially the palm trees because they don't really look indigenous to the setting.

I like the SD toys that have come out lately. There's Marvel Heroes, Spider Man, Star Wars, and TransFormers. What's bext, SD Tarantino Movie figures?

wow, I was actually in AC this weekend as well, we normally hit up the tropicana but decided instead to stay at Harrahs, not bad except the parking was a total nightmare. Good overall weekend but I kinda missed the usual hung over stroll down the boardwalk before leaving.

Ahhhh! DJ D, my fiance and I saw that Falcon set last night and I WANT IT. So bad. But it's like 40 bucks. Sadface.

However, I can't complain too much because we also completed our Robot Heroes collection in one fell swoop. We were like a couple of five-year-olds. It was awesome.

Anyway, it should be obvious by now that I'm a big fat sucker for super-deformed figurines.

Whoa…now that I've actually looked at the page for that thing, it's only 29 dollars? I could've sworn the price tag at the store was at least 10 dollars more than that…huh.

Yeti, I'm glad to know you're (hopefully) okay now. Best wishes on your continued recovery

kingklash, I hope so! I don't think I could even pick which movie I'd want them to do first, but I would relish the opportunity to recreate the climactic shootout from Reservoir Dogs with tiny, adorable SD figures. I like the Star Wars figures as well…has anyone seen those "trendy side of the Force" figures they've got? They're very cool, but Mace Windu and his giant bald head makes me laugh.

JLAJRC: Hmmm, good question. Since I'm writing a paranormal investigation series, I have one MiB-ish type and one ghost-hunter type, and neither one really understands the other's circle of influence. I say that while the GB can comprehend but not quite handle aliens, the MiB does not seem to be a group that can understand the non-coporeal in the same way as the GB.

The only thing, is they have to be in the style of the current lines. That's all I ask. Some "Grindhouse" figures, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill (because the Marvel Hero Squad Elektra just cracks me up with how cute she is) Bride and Gogo. Just picking any movie has limitless possibilities- Star Trek: The Voyage Home set with Spock and the Boom-box Punk, GhostBusters Zuul-Possessed Dana and Terror Dog, Beetlejuice and Wedding Dress Lydia, Sin City Marv and Electric Chair, Just to see all of them with the happy faces.

JLAJRC, well, the proton pack seems capable of frying anything in its way and causing severe property damage. The Ghostbusters could most like kill a fully-developed Alien and definately injure a Predator, but I think the hunting method and camo of a Predator would give it the edge.

Dio, I'd like to see Agent J of MiB vs Fox Mulder. No weapons except maybe barbed-wire boxing gloves. Just, you know, for the heck of it…

Squee, my question is if they'd made the prequels at the time of the original trilogy, would Mace Windu have still be bald, or would he have had a mohawk or afro?

I'd have to go Predator over the Ghostbusters. He's got the camo like Guise mentioned and better control of his laser.

Agent J over Mulder because Mulder just doesn't seem like he could defend himself against a guy who deals with aliens for a living.

And Guise it's funny you mention that, I saw an interview with Mark Hamill, he wanted to come back for Jedi with a mohawk or some sort of funky hairdo but Lucas was against it.

Sin City is definitely one I'd love to see SD figs from. I got to remembering after my last post about how there's already been a set of Kubrick figures from Reservoir Dogs, so I started researching it and discovered something even more exciting:
Kubrick's making a set of LOST figures! And I thought the Cowboy Bebop 10 year anniversary box set I heard about this morning was the coolest thing I could possibly hear about today. Between those two and the Cloverfield monster I'm going to be spending way too much money I don't have.

Congrats on your winnings Matt! Never been to Atlantic city and probably never will. But we have our own Indian run casinos and been to Vegas. Always hit and miss for me as well.

MMM…Shamrock shakes, this year I'm buying as many as I can. Last year they stopped selling the BEFORE St. Patrick's day here…the bastards.

And Last and probably least. Whereas I thought the Cloverfield movie was cool and all, I had one pet peeve about it. I can suspend believe for a lot of things (including the monster, and the rebar through the shoulder) but I can not suspend it for some fat guy wheezing down the street begging the others to slow down and then the three of them run up 59 flights of stairs with no trouble. Nope can't do it.

This will never happen (in the US), but I want a line of chibi-fied Gundam characters. My world would be one step closer to complete if I could stage fights between SD Luke Skywalker and SD Amuro Ray. And then have our Revoltech Megatron figure come in and smash them both.

Ther are SD Gundams of the Mobile Suits, but I've never heard of SD Pilots. Of course, there probably are figures out there.

Matt, why is everything you write made of Win?

Glad to know that you made some money for once.

I love kubricks…they have a bear bricks of the little eyeball people from Patapon on psp. If anyone has a PSP play this game immediatley…its only 20 bucks.

To The Yeti: Glad you're okay now. But, if you don't mind me asking, did you have any cool out-of-body experiences during your temporary death. I'll understand if you don't want to answer.

To Annette: I like the way you think! BTW I totally think Amuro could beat Luke, but neither would stand a chance against Gundam W's Heero Yuy!

To JLAJRC I think the Ghostbusters could beat an alien invasion, but there would be a serious learning curve they'd have to overcome first.

You know, that whole question reminds me of an animated series I'm developing which involves an Aliens Vs. Faeries war.

Tetsu,
Sadly, no. Really, I feel that I was kinda gypped on the whole deal. I did not touch the face of God, I have no greater understanding of myself or of my place in the universe, and I didn't look down upon my lifeless body from some ethereal perch. All I did was get a bump on the noggin and laid in a coma for three and a half weeks. Total ripoff. Not only that, but I also failed to incur any injuries that resulted in any bad-ass scars to brag about.

As I said before, I'll post the whole sordid story here on X-E sometime soon. Until then, thanks for the well-wishing.

Wait just a second, here! Two shelves down from the booby mugs…are those, like, dildos or mini-sybians or something?

They're penis ashtrays. The penises served no active function. They were just kind in the middle for show.

In a reference that will mean little to all but a few, if you look close at the wall of toys, Robert Viscera in a different outfit can be seen.

Wait a minute, The Yeti. You regret not having scars to brag about, but…being dead/being in a coma = fsking bad-ass. I'm looking forward to your bad-ass story. (Er…I hope that doesn't sound too wrong…I'm not glad you were in an accident or anything screwy like that.)

Tetsu, I think Cap'n Bright would kick all of their asses. He'd bitchslap them and then send them to the brig. I should mention that I really like Bright.

Speaking of cool toys, I want some of those Indiana Jones Legos. I've always liked those little Lego men, but I've never been able to get any. I want an Indy Lego man.

I was going to let everyone know that I bought a Shamrock Shake today so it's now open season for them, but ellaenchanted and possibly others beat me to it. So instead I am going to point out how the tree in the playset mat is growing right in the middle of the road.

I'm glad you came away with money for once, but losing it all and drowning it in booze is far more entertaining.

DarthPez: Maybe it's the martini talking, but I just cracked up at you. At cracked up you.

It really had me fooled, up until the end. I really wish it really was the opening sequence!

Congrats on your win! BY the way, I'll never tire of your stories of odd soap and titty cups. Keep 'em coming, man.

LOL at Robert Viscera…BTW Matt do you still use this recipe? I've got a bottle of vodka to finish off, so I went and picked up a jar of olives, but I forgot the vermouth:
Mix 3 ounces vodka with 1 ounce vermouth and 1 ounce olive juice. Pour into glass. Add more olive juice, liberally. Drink until it's 1:30 and you're clam happy and ready for bed.

Hmmmmm, I have just received word from a buddy of mine that stocks shelves at Wal-Mart, that they are making a clearance Holiday Isle. Apparently they have loads upon loads of leftover stock and need to get rid of it. He said that there are a ton of Halloween and Christmas decorations going for a quarter a pop. This night may be interesting yet.

squee: Nowadays, I run the martinis a little differently. I just swirl a dash (like less than a teaspoon) of vermouth around the glass and dump the excess before pouring in 4 oz of vodka mixed with dirty mix. (It's impossible to suggest a correct amount of dirty mix, way too subjective, but I've learned to eyeball it by color.) Also, dirty mix is infinitely better than dumping olive juice in, because you'll need less of it, and because a lot of storebought olive brine seems to have a vinegar taste to it. (You'll do just fine with olive juice, though — when I'm out of mix, I use it just fine.)

Honestly, the vermouth is probably more essential if you like a cleaner martini. I put it in just for the sake of it, but if you like them dirty like me, I can't say that the vermouth is going to make a world of difference.

nice Jester, What walmart is that? My local walmarts have no such sales. the one over the bridge is quite possibly the suckiest walmart ever.

That was the strangest opening to anything I've ever seen. I do wish that was the real opening. XD

Yeti: When my Army/Firefighter Sister was in her car accident a couple of decades ago, she would have little bits of glass come out of her forehead (from going through the windshield) a couple months after. Made acne look like a walk down the Holiday Aisle.

They did the MIB vs. Mulder/Scully on MTV's "Celebrity Deathmatch" a few years ago. Mulder/Scully won because of the fact the Agent J accidently killed themselves by holding the wrong end of an alien gun, vaporizing themselves. Mulder/Scully then kissed.

The Wal-Mart closest to me sucks big time. It's in a shitty area and is just…trashy, and overcrowded, and never has ANYTHING we're looking for. I've taken to driving 10 miles extra just to go to the other, nicer one.

Ok, the sale was blah, all the decorations that were on sale were either busted beyond recognition or the cheapo…..crepe? crape? crepe'……..that cheap paper that dissolves when liquid gets into the general area.

So, it wasn't anything major, although, it was cool to see flattened and cracked plastic bloody axes lying next to ceramic reindeer that have been decapitated. Kinda let the imagination run wild on that one.

Also, they had a Santa that sang and danced, but the batteries were left in it for too long, so they started leaking battery acid all down his back. The surprising thing was, IT STILL WORKED, but in the low battery power kind of way, so the singing dancing santa kinda hald heartidly shimmied back and forth while apparently singing satanic versions of christmas carols. It was kinda surreal.

i found this and had to share… its a device that allows you to recharge your cell phone using a 9-volt battery… thats not the great part though… the great part is that its shaped like a dragon radar from dragonball… they also had a "capsule" model… the next page had little golden dog poo's that your supposed to tie to your phone for good luck… ah those kooky japanese…
http://www.strapya-world.com/products/21286.html

Kingklash,
Holy smokes, that sounds awful. I guess I shouldn't be bitching and moaning about not receiving any visible scars then, huh? Thanks for sharing, and I hope that your Army/Firefighter Sister (sounds like one tough dame!) is doing fine now.

Jester, I would SO buy that Santa primarily on that sales pitch. I want a creepy satanic Santa who likely moves like a possessed houdou priest in front of overweight, plaid-shorted tourists!

yeeeah i really just went into mcdonalds for a coffee–UNTIL I SAW THE POSTER FOR SHAMROCK SHAKE…but as i approached the counter, I noticed the manager on a stool elbow-deek in ice cream machine and I knew it was a bad omen. The shake machine was broken. On my next coffee break I jumped snowpiles and j-walked my way back and peeked my head in the window trying to see the machine…an employee noticed me with my face pressed up against the window and recognized me as 'sad disappointed no shamrock shake girl' and started to shake her head no. But don't worry, I found one, and it was totally worth the stomach discomfort I had for the rest of the day.

I don't even know what a Shamrock Shake tastes like anymore. I hate McDonald's. Bunch of fascists.

Bah, Celebrity Deathmatch isn't good proof. We're talking real, manly fisticuffs. I still say J wins.

Don't know if it's been posted or not, but my brother just linked me to more pics of the Cloverfield monster. Link in the name down there. Also, they're making a live-action Akira, for some reason. Weird.

I don't frequent McD's often enough over here in the Far East to know if they're currently offering Shamrock Shakes, but get this: at a McD's in China, you can buy a fruit pie filled with pineapple! I've yet to try one, but you can bet your ass that I’ll certainly give ‘em a shot before returning stateside.

I still prefer getting sloshed on Kronenburg at the McD's in Paris and then returning to our coach in the Pigalle near the Sacre Couer cathedral. The Pigalle is a red light district, where ever school and college trip teachers and tutors always got offers.

Drunken college students from a McD's bender, embarrassed tutors being offered services from bad trans' and the brightly lit cathedral in the background. There are few things better in life.

Hey all, back with my self-absorbed look into the world of TCC! Still illin' and on day 6. Breaking down and going to the doc today. Hope there's a cure to whatever evil I have. OK. Back to fun stuff.

I was wondering for all you McD's eaters over in the US, do you also have the Cadbury's Creme Egg Mcflurry?

Amund: Live action Akira only makes me even more angry after that live action Dragon Ball movie that's in production. WTF, America, you have to rape Japan's icons too? Isn't it enough that fucking Tom Cruise as the first weaaboo of Japan beats out Godzilla's last movie?

Sorry, my soda withdrawals from Lent is really getting to me. On the bright side, I finally got some cadbury eggs. Mmmm, fondanty goodness.

I am… uncertain about the live-action Akira. I guess it all depends on how the SFX mimic the various disturbing stuff that goes on in the movie. And Matt, that was awesome. We need more X-Adventures like this one. Seriously.

Dan, it actually lasts the year round here, but they really promote it at Easter. I shall endeavour to get one in the next few days and as well as forcing myself to eat all these bloody eggs, I'll eat a McFlurry too. Oh, what harsh existence. ^^

Dio, I wouldn't mind the Akira if a) live action, all Japanese cast and crew with English sub or b) CGI akin to Advent Children with English sub.

meh…Shakes are no good for me….lactose intolerance and all that….IF I eat a TON of food before hand as a buffer for the lactic acid im semi okay. I find my self okay with ice cream sodas or floats as the soda cuts the acid down somewhat.
Its never cheese, just milk and ice cream i have the probs with.

My seasonal treat is gonna be whatever the seasonal starbucks flavor is for their frappucinos

Sis is doing fine, Yeti. As I said, the wreck happened a long time ago. She did a stint in the Army, just in time to go to Iraq for a tour as a member of Quartermaster Corps. And now she's on call as a wildlands firefighter for the Comanche Tribe. All because she's too stubborn to know when to quit.

Does anyone know where I can get a reusable Slurpee cup? I was just in there today looking to see if they had replaced the Coffee Slurpee (which I'm not a fan of) and wondered where I could get a reusable cup from.

Kingklash,
It sounds like that if I ever want to know what your Sis looks like, all I need to do is grab an encyclopedia and look up the word "hardcore" and there she'll be.

HOLY CRAP! I just realized what the pic is in the Blog button at the top of the page!

Awwwww crap! I got one shot at being in the limelight…….and I blew it. Stinkor, not Skunkor,

Hey Matt if you are posting a blog on Friday can you give me a shout out? It's my birthday on Friday (March 7th)

If Goob gets a shout-out, so do I! My birthday is on March 13th. I'll be…good god…28. I have a good enough view of 30 from here, thanks. I think that this is about as close as I'd care to get.

P.S. My car-crash story is coming soon! Too damn busy to get it posted in any timely fashion, but it will get posted!

Man, I am missing out. We have been having ice storms up here in ohio. I haven't lost power yet thank god, but I have been forced to finally plan my wedding….ugh….i hate being a girl.

geez its like the birthday month mine is on march 8th and its getting too close to 30 for my liking, maybe I'll skip this year

If Goob and Yeti get a shout out, so do I. It isn't my birthday, but..um, well…ok, I got nothing.

Leigha, insist that you both have to walk the aisle, a funeral dirge to play for him and the Imperial March for you. Recruit people to come with a manner of weapons from shotguns to rocket launchers (confetti cannons!). Hire some male models to stand in an area marked "Mystery Box" and have the reading say "Do you take this man XXXX to be your lawfully wedded husband…or will you take what is inside our Mystery Box?" and after you do the "I do's" they can say "Lets take a look at what you would've won!"

Don't forget to invite everyone to "Come on down!" when you open the gifts at the reception dinner.

Leigha: Make it an X-E theme wedding. You and your fiancee could dress up like She-Ra and He-Man. The preacher could dress like Man-At-Arms. We can have Jones Sodas and Kinder Eggs for food while the Halloween and Christmas Jukebox plays. It all would take place in Atlantic City, of course. Have the flower girl/ring bearer dress in those little Leatherface/Michael Myers childrens costumes from a couple of Halloween Countdown back. Guests can come in whatever costume they want. Best men/Women could dress as GI Joes/Rainbow Brite/Strawberry Shortcake characters Both set of parents are Ghostbusters. Matt could mix the cocktails. Souvenirs could be Green Mystery Bamboo Peanuts. Mystie could sing Karaoke.

actually all of that sounds really fun. i am going a more traditional route though….maybe karaoke still though. and maybe the preacher still dressed as man-at-arms. My only requirement is that everyone gets hammered….even the children.

XD, if we're talkign weddings, mine's gonna be gamer themed; like Peach and Mario or Link and Zelda on the cake, instead of the cha-cha the wedding party does the Crash Bandicoot dance, and the party favors are Nintendo things like mushroom and stars. I want my dress to be either Celes from Final Fantasy 6 (the opera house scene), or Claris Sinclair's dress at the end of NiGHTS. ^^

Guise: And Akira movie made here isn't going to have many, if any, Japanese ppl in it, and it certainly won't be animated like Advent Children; the best we could hope for is Beowulf style. Not that the animation was bad, but I think its too real and not gritty enough for Akria. Beowulf came off as too clean; maybe if you stick a noise filter over it like in 300.

Guise: Actually, I think the page boy should dress as Charlie Brown while the flower girl comes as the little red-haired girl.

Matt - I'm getting the itch to watch Golden Girls again, and I'm thinking about dropping some money on some DVDs. I own none of the seasons, and I'm looking for advice. Which season is the best? If you could only afford to buy one season, which one would it be?

I'm one of those rare anime fans that actually fucking hates Akira with a passion. I don't know how to feel about an American bastardization of it. I mean, I'm fucking sick of remakes and I think they're the biggest copout ever. But on the other hand, I hate Akira anyway so why should I care if they screw it up? XD

Chris, honestly, any except the last season is totally fine. I don't think I can pick a favorite from the rest. The first two seasons are a little more "relevant," but the later ones give you Bea Arthur dressed up as Cher and shit like that.

Matt - Thanks. Just curious: when you say 'relevant,' do you mean as in the topics are social/political topics, or do you mean the shows have held up particularly well by today's entertainment standards? Also, did the last season suck or something? I used to watch Golden Girls religiously with my grandparents, but when I started getting older I spent fewer and fewer Saturday nights at their house. Consequently, I've never seen too many of the later episodes, so I wasn't aware that there were any particularly bad seasons.

I SAID the shake was worth the stomach discomfort I had the rest of the day…it was the perfect not-too-thick consistancy so I could easily drink it down but just looking at the green goo made me want to vomit 2 3rds of the way in. I haven't had one since I was 10 so it was a treat after years of thinking of carbs as satan

Not sure if this has been posted before on the blogs, but I came across this website the other night. It's www.slurpeeflavors.com. Essentially, it's a wikipedia for slurpees. You go on and see what 7-11 close by to you has slurpee flavors. But in order to determine that, someone has to have already gone to the store and uploaded the flavors into the database. One of those things where the more people who join, the more encompassing it is.

Rich
I have tried the 7-eleven finder before. It just reminds me that I live too far away to drive for a Big Gulp. But that map is amazing anyhow.

The X-E Wedding sounds like a smashing idea. I say somebody gets on that right away. I'm coming as James Lipton. Come to think of it, we could have a completely seperate Advent wedding. That's a whole new can of worms.

Speaking of which, one of the best weddings I've ever Dj'd was a couple of good friends of mine. The ceremony was held outside and at the end, right after the whole "I pronounce you man and wife" part, they turned and faced the crowd, and I started up the Star Wars music–you know the music that plays at the end of Ep. IV, during the ceremony. Best wedding I ever did. During the reception, we alternated between me Dj'ing and a guy doing karaoke. That was the day I was dragged on stage and lost my karaoke virginity. It was "Boys Don't Cry", by The Cure. No shock there.

That tears it, I've got to have a Shamrock Shake tonight! I don't know if any of the McD's around here have them, but now I'm on the hunt. I'm getting a craving for a Cadbury's egg too.

kingklash, Dog-faced cats and boy-faced dogs sleping together?! Mass hysteria!!

Good one! Oh, and for the record, as much as I love Ghostbusters, they still wouldn't stand a chance against a Predator. Alien, maybe. But a Predator's just too stealthy.

Captain Rufus, So, is that your collection of MiniMates there? Good stuff! I've never collected those, but I just saw an ad for some new Back to the Future ones that look pretty cool. I'd love to have those. You get Marty, Doc Brown, Biff, and Lorraine.

Happy birthday to all the March birthday kids. My mom's is on St. Patty's Day. She doesn't really take advantage of it, being a hardcore non-drinker. Waste of a St. Patty's Day birthday if you ask me. It's like having your birthday on Halloween and not even so much as answering the door for trick 'r treaters.

When I was heavy into anime, I was never a big fan of Akira, either. Don't even own much anime anymore, a lot of my DVDs got sold over the summer by the hands of my ex. I spent pretty much every day helping him try to finally straighten his life out, and while he was hanging out in my room he took a liking to going through everything I own and reorganizing it. The look on his face after I explained to him about the pile of AA batteries in my bedside drawer was priceless.

I never thought of myself as someone that would have a big wedding, I always figured best case scenerio I'd elope in Vegas and get married by pirates. But I guess now that I actually have so many friends that would want to come, I should eventually rethink my plan.

Well, from what I've heard on the imdb forums, the Akira remake is going to take place in New York. I think. My head's been doing weird things without me recently. I'll probably watch it just to get pissed off at it. Both parts. That's right, they're making it into two movies. Link below.

The best wedding I've ever been to was my brother's. The ceremony was performed by a Justice of the Peace, it took maybe 20 minutes to get through, there were something like 30 people total in attendance, and we all went to a kick-ass buffet restuarant afterwards for the reception. Simplicity in its purest (and rarest) form.

My fiance would be ecstatic if we could have a fancy-shmancy Ace of Cakes-style mecha cake for our wedding. The best part is that I would be all for that. Most girls would be like, "Uh, no. Not happening." Hell, I'd skimp on the dress if it meant we could get a cake like that. XD I'm only gonna wear the dress one time, but the memory of that cake would live on forever. We could tell our kids about it and all that jazz.

By the way, that song is fucking hard on Guitar Hero. One time I managed to get five-stars on it and ran around shouting and waving my arms. It was awesome.

I don't know how this was missed. I now feel like I'm lacking something in life. Thank god for shamrock shakes… but a McFlurry made w/ Creme Eggs! Wonder if I can have them ship me one in an ice box?

i found out that this is actually just one song from a film called "Donga" which i now have to devote every fiber of my being to finding…

Annette: No harm, its an ok movie, its just that I'm also tired of remakes. I mean, what the hell. Also, an Duff cake is my dream; I'm already thinking of making my own dress for my wedding anyway. My bf wants to have the wedding party enter to NIB….^^;;;

AND: Happy March Birthdays! I have eyeball cancer from that train over there. XD;;;;

Why does Hollywood have to ruin everything?! Why can't they just let a movie be Japanese instead of being fucking racists (’cause that's what it's all about. They don't want an Asian cast unless it's a kung-fu movie) and going out of their way to bastardize and Americanize everything.

How do you set a movie called "Akira" outside of Japan anyway? Akira is a distinctly Japanese name.

Unless it's the Wachowski Brothers. As the only mainstream American filmmakers that respect anime they would be able to pull it off. But, I think they're busy making the new Speed Racer movie, which also pissed me off until I heard they were involved.

*sigh* Uh… Thanks for letting me vent guys. I went a little berserk there. Hollywood keeps pissing me off.

Anyway, on a lighter note. I LOVE the X-E wedding idea. But I think another cool wedding would involve everyone dressing in werewolf costumes and carrying around chainsaws!

At the end of the ceremony, everyone revs up their chainsaws and waves them in the air while howling. That would ROCK!

Oh and, since my website is down, I set my name to link to my FF.net profile. If anyone likes Fanfics, feel free to check it out.

okay dood. Long time no see, for me.
Anyway. Interesting that you talk of going to AC- I just got back from Vegas myself.
Didn't win any money, but then again, I do not gamble to win- I gamble to get free drinks.
Woo.

Anyway- if anyone … ANYONE! Goes to Fremont Street in Vegas within the next few months- please look at some of their crappy store displays.

One of them displays "Contact Lenses" for sale- and one of the people sporting these Contact Lenses is MATT!
I swear to god- by Grapthar's hammer- whatever! I wish I had taken a picture of it but I was cranky and very tired and it didn't occur to me.
I probably won't go for another year, so I hope someone proves it true!

Old Jim, I haven't got to Simpsons yet, but based on Spongebob and Dora eggs…science make Guise feel greeeeen…

toxikfoxx, huge chunks of carbury gream eggs shell and swirls of fondant mixed up with ice cream. It actually is more appealing to me in that form than as an egg…

Happy birthday Goob. I e-mailed you something cool for your birthday. Feel loved.

Thank you:
Bill
Mystie Thank you Mystie! I'm still squirming in my seat from that one.
Dan
Tetsu Deinonychus
and
Cameron T.