X-Entertainment's Christmas Season & Advent Calendar, 2008.

05/25/2008: The Giant Blanket / Portable Heater-Fan Combo Punch.

I was having trouble shaking off the stress of the week that was and the week that’s coming, and considering that I’ve got a day off on Monday, measures had to be taken. I admit to having the kind of brain that prefers darting towards every conceivable thought of panic, and though I can think of a few times when this is sort of advantageous, Memorial Day weekend is not fucking one of them.

Coping devices come in all shapes and sizes — some are healthy, many are unhealthy, and most seem necessary at the time that they’re activated. I’ve tested out hundreds of coping devices during my many years spent on Earth, running the gamut from the innocuous to the illegal. To this day, nothing has worked quite as well as a sanctuary from stress as…

THE GIANT BLANKET / PORTABLE HEATER-FAN COMBO PUNCH!!!
Oh you know it, baby. Straight up. The Giant Blanket / Portable Heater-Fan Combo Punch refers to my lifelong sweetest escape. Ever since childhood, I reveled in any opportunity to hide myself in a voluminous blanket, leaving only enough room for a plug-in heater-fan to share in my big cloth fort. Sufficiently cut off from society at large, time seems to stop in there. Problems cease to exist, and the only thing I really have to worry about is whether it’s the kind of night that calls for the heater-fan to heat me or fan me. Usually, I flip between the two settings before finally drifting off into unconsciousness.

It works every time, and it works in a different way than a plain old nap would. When life kicks your ass so hard that your only defense is sleeping, you might head to the couch or bed to do just that. But it won’t be a happy process. You’ll eventually fall asleep, yes, but you’ll do so with nothing but bad thoughts in your head, likely to influence your dreams and rob you of your crazy God-given right to dream about flying and winning money and getting a pet mogwai.

Naps have their place in the world, but when a situation is a few notches beyond the norm, there is only one answer: The Giant Blanket / Portable Heater-Fan Combo Punch. I strongly recommend it. If you want to solidify the nigh-guarantee that this will solve every issue you’re facing, take a pack of Twizzler Nibs under there with you.

I guess I can’t call this an SNT when it’s being posted after 3 AM, but, uh, happy Saturday?

Hinky
I admit to having the kind of brain that prefers darting towards every conceivable thought of panic, and though I can think of a few times when this is sort of advantageous, Memorial Day weekend is not fucking one of them.
Totally get where you’re coming from there. Like, it’s good when it keeps you from walking out of the restaurant without your wallet, but other times, not so much.

Is anyone actually doing something of significance with the three-day weekend? We considered it, but doing nothing won.

Matt, when your not busy, would you like to Brawl? (Not tonight, me and Ultraman went at it for a while) |)

Good night X-E!!! I am going to Portland for my grandad’s friends 70th b-day. Should be fancy |)

Holy smokes. I can’t believe that worked. I’ve been reading this site since 2005 and this is the first time I’ve been able to post. Magic. And hypothermia!

My combo punch consists of a blanket and a hair dryer. Doesn’t pack as much of a punch. More of a combo glove slap. :/ I said “good day!”.
Alright, that’s enough of that. turning in.

Aw man, a missed a once in a life time chance to post a bunch of words that start with H.

Yeah, so happy Sunday Morning Thread! I’m finally going to see Indiana Jones IV today.

As for Memorial day: I’ve been unemployed for the last month so EVERY weekend has been a three day weekend. :( So my only plans this weekend are to keep looking for a job.

If I ever nap, it is usually so hard I wake up sweaty with something stuck to my face and still in my shoes. Maybe the blanket/heater combo punch has something going for it.

Instead, I am off to WORK on SUNDAY. Fuck. I hate all you long weekend bastards.

Aaron Portland? As in Portland Oregon? Interesting I grew up in Portland Oregon and still live in Oregon. If you are talking about Maine then nevermind.

Ahh being curled up underneath a blanket. I have a peach and white afghan that drapes over the back of our leather couch so I sometimes use it over me when I am watching tv and I just need that extra bit of warmth and comfort. Sometimes the air conditioner is just too cold and I need to warm up before the temperature gets adjusted. And sometimes it’s just nice to be covered with a blanket while your watching tv.

No real big plans. Went out with the ex yesterday and we piddled around at Zern’s, went for Chinese, and then made out watching Indiana Jones. Today I think we’re opening the pool. The time is drawing near for my mother to finally discover my tattoo. I can’t wait, the suspense building is terrific. Today I’m getting together with mah buddies and we’re having pizza and doing some meditation and shit.

I’ve devised this entire plan to trick the guy I like into touching my boob, assuming I can get him alone for a moment. If I works, I think I will gain something like +50 charisma.

Man, why can I never meet women that devise devious ways to trick me into touching their boobs?

Well since my husband got his license suspended due to a suprise surcharge we had no clue existed til Thursday…I have been helping him on his Chinese food delivery job! I drive, he navigates and hand out the food….this lovely scenario will carry out til about Tuesday when hopefully we will have enough money to pay the dam surcharge and get him back on the streets.

I start my medical office specialist courses Tuesday, which is exciting and also weird…because I honestly haven’t had an opportunity or money to buy new clothes in a year, and all I usually wear is my jeans and a T shirt with some kind of pop culture referene on it or video game character. I don’t want to walk in looking like a smart assed slacker, so I’m gonna have to save and get a couple of Polo shirts or something to that effect.

Mystie… pretend your contact fell out, and ask him to feel by your boob to see if it landed there….

I went to a house party last night that ended at midnight, and afterwards I realized we are all getting very very old.

No big plans for the weekend, though I’m dying to take my son to a movie today. Anything out there decent for kids? I was thinking Indiana Jones, what’s that rated?

I think it’s allergy related, everyone I know is suffering twice as much this year some reason.

Hihi Josh! Did you get my email? Hit me up like I said and we will trades da pokemans

Blanket and hot chocolate for me. Works well with a random 80s movie, or the X-E archives.

Right now I’m eating a sure-fire comforter… one of those snack-size Nutellas with the little plastic spatula thingies. I love those spatulas. I never wanted to throw them away as a kid, because they seemed so useful. Maybe as oars for an oddly-scaled action figure line.

I’m about to start my last week of school for the semester, after which I get to wait until the 26th of June for an exam. Then, only then, a Jedi will I be. Also I get to go to Seattle to see my girlfriend! Yay!

did my bit for the H fad. This blog has been brought to you by the letter H and the number 69

I find that just taking a long hot bath relaxes me. I’ve spent a couple of hours in there a few times.

We’ve been busy this week. Friday my youngest brother graduated from high school and yesterday we had his graduation party with a six-foot sub, macaroni salad, potato chips/dip, krab dip/crackers, soda, and cake. We also had pizza for dinner.

Today, I’m going to another graduation party where tacos are being made. I’ll probably see Indy Jones 4 either today or tomorrow.

I’m think that the Jones Soda company should have had a Indy promotion, since they’re Jones’s, but it seems Dr. Pepper is doing it. But what flavor would Jones make to honor Indy?

duh…thanks doho. He’s into anything so long as he gets scooby doo fruit snacks and an icee.

Muppet Baby, I’m working today, too. I always work on Sundays. We get paid extra for working on Sundays, which tends to take the sting out of working on a day most people consider holy.

I’m also working on Memorial Day. I volunteered. Before you all wonder just how fried my brain is, you have to remember, I grew up at the Jersey Shore. People who live at the Jersey Shore spend their Memorial Day (or any summer holiday weekend) working or hiding from the scores of tourists who descend on us like locusts. You didn’t “sign up” to work on summer holidays at the Shore. You worked summer holidays, and you didn’t make plans.

I remember when I was a little kid in school, I used to get excited when it was May 1st because that meant before I knew it, June 1st would be here and therefore school was almost over.

Part of the appeal of the Memorial Day parade for me was knowing it was the last day off before summer vacation. Ahh memories…

Goob, Oregon is my destination. I live down in Federal Way, WA (near Tacoma). What part of Portland do you live in? You know, Matt, I might try that someday… like after my freshman year (high school… I coulda used that for the H festival… dang) is over.

Both of the first choice H-words were stolen :Hyrule and Hypnotoad….so……Hermaphrodite? As far as weekend plans, you’re lookin at em. Might go for a walk with the fiance later, but other than that, it will be a weekend filled with surfing the internet and watching G4.

In Japan, they put the blanket over a table with the heater underneat (so you don’t burn down the house) and call it a Kotatsu.

Well, howdy y’all. I just got up. Didn’t go to bed until LATE. I can thank X-E for that, and I do ! =)

Matt…any plans to review the new Mountain Dew flavors?! I’m waiting for your approval before I buy any.

Mystie you don’t have to trick a man into touching your boobs. You can just ask him . lol.

My plans for memorial day weekend: stay inside, stay cool, and um… Wait, I’ve got nothing else. I’m so broke I can barely afford gas and I live out in nowhere, so it looks like it’s going to be a weekend with the internet and TV. And I’m unemployed, which renders weekends meaningless.

I just got back from Indy 4. Kickass! I loved it! Can’t believe some people are ragging on it….It was a great film. No, it wasn’t as good as Raiders or Last Crusade…but I think I might put it over Temple of Doom.

I probably wouldn’t take the twizzlers with me, I hate waking up with my teeth feeling like they are about to rot off.

Aaron- Fed Way? No way! My gf is in Des Moines. I can’t wait to get back there for summer.

Daniel45 - Des Moines? Dude, that’s where I go to school!!! Mt. Raineir, to be exact.

Aaron I don’t live in Portland anymore I grew up in NE Portland. I live in a small town called Hermiston Oregon. You know Pendleton? I am about a 30 minute drive from there.

Just got back from Indy 4. I liked it alot, although there were a couple of CGI spots that had me rolling my eyes.

Is there a story behind the loss of the “K” and the “ative”?
Knegative, Kneg, K-, and now Neg…
You’re the MAN-E-FACES of X-E.

Why does that Blanket/Heater combo remind me of Blankie from The Brave Little Toaster?

JLAJRC I am not from Iowa, but my fiancee is. He is from Storm Lake in Buena Vista County, which I think is in the NW corner of the state. I hated it the last time I went out, but this time wasnt nearly as bad because I could legally drink and proceeded to black out. Fun times. We live in Ohio though, in Kent.

PS-Sorry for the (possible) double post, but JLAJRC what part of Iowa are you from? MY fiance always gets interested when he hears about other Iowans.

Tell me, fine people at the internet’s X-Entertainment Blog- how do you like your coffee?

You may tell me how you like your womens too if you so desire, and perhaps even relate the two things in a humorous way.

I am pretty accommodating when it comes to coffee, but I do have to say that, as a general rule, I prefer my coffee to not be a giant robot.

p.s. I just can’t stop thinking how scary it’d be if a flaming homeless guy came out of the dark right now

Would said homeless guy steal my italian leftovers? And perhaps claim them to be chicken wings?

That would make the homeless guy even more terrifying, I fear. There is a strange sort of menace to a man who could mistake Italian leftovers for chicken wings, especially if said man happened to be on fire. I like to think that even if I was set ablaze, the difference between the two of them would be clear to me.

Clearly this is menace that must dealt with quickly. However, I fear the aid of Squirtle cannot be assured on such short notice, or at all, to be honest.

One must learn to rely on water pokemon with panache and grace like Mudkips and Piplups, mir?

Your distaste for Squirtle makes me suspect that you may actually be a rogue Bidoof who has learned to post on the internet.

For shame, woman. I would never disgrace myself as such to be a lowly Normal type, especially one who fancies himself Speed Racer in some far reaches of the internet!

It reminds me of the time I secretly posed nude for a Hungarian sculptor only to find that my roommates had been posing for him as well, and that said sculptor was actually gay.

Holy cow! Well, it turns out that my first kid is SUCH an XE fan, that she decided to be born on SNT! Hard core! She technically came at 11:23 Sunday, but the water broke while SNTing. Tiny Claws is here, hooray! I and Thunder Punch (Mrs. Claws) are thrilled to death.

And just in case you think children might be cramping your XE style, think of how awesome the 80s will be when I involuntarily place her childhood in it. She’s gonna party like it’s 1983! Shameful confession time: I already have the two 83 My Little Pony Reissue sets.

One time I was looking for my soulmate. I went through all kinds of trouble to track down this book with her number in it. Well, I ended up at this artist’s place–apparently he was her old roomate? And he went on an on about how she sat on him.

Congratulations from some strange girl on the internet you do not know, Terror Claws person. ^^

Hasbro actually plans to reissue the rainbow ponies line as well. I think they were released in 84, so this may interfere with your party plans slightly, but they have UNICORNS, and it is pretty darn hard to go wrong with unicorns.

Congrats Terror Claws that’s great that she has 10 fingers and 10 toes and her proportions are correct and all that fun stuff. Everything is where it’s supposed to be. I looked up once what day I was born, everyone should know that about themselves. From what I remember I was born on Sunday which is the best day to be born according to the book I read. When I see a hot girl I say to my best friend “wow she has everything all in the right places!” which I think is an obvious statement. He then says oh yeah I’d hit that (which is hilarious if you knew what he looked like) and we chuckle and carry on. Good times.

During my last year of college, I was always coming home tired, with a headache, and sometimes wanting to cry. My therapy to unwind was to lay in bed with a big, slightly damp towel over my eyes (but not obstructing my nose, elsewise I couldn’t breathe), turn my TV on to either Cartoon Network or pop in an Invader Zim DVD, and just lie there in the cool darkness, listening to the TV.

I just fandango’d my Indy ticket for tommorow…Was gonna go with the husband, however, he ruins all the fun by whispering about how certain things in movies can’t happen in real life…for instance we would watch like die hard , and he’s all like “in real life that guy would get arrested for jumping a car off a bridge” and I’m all lie no shit sherlock…friggin 2 hours of this crap I can put up with in a semi decent movie…but with Indy, I need to enjoy it by myself, and lose myself in the adventure

Ndi
Awesome news. I will buy those as soon as they come out. Is there some pony news source I need??

Thanks for the well wishes all. If I don’t miss my guess, she was born May 25th â€“ 31 years to the day Star Wars was released. She’ll be a geek girl for sure.

I just went and checked for a date on them and apparently they are out already, just really hard to find. The last sets took a while to show up in most stores too though, so if you like to browse your toy aisles on a regular basis you are probably set.

http://mlparena.com is where I get my pony news, but the site can be a little bit scary, so consider yourself forewarned!

I went to walmart today hoping that I would find a Wii fit and then have to purchase it…but no such luck. Does anyone have it? is it any good?

Congrats to you and Thunder Punch TCC, we gladly & warmly welcome Tiny Claws into the Geek fold.

Congrats on Tiny Claws, TCC! I hope that it won’t be her real name…although it shall please me if it is.

Thanks for the congrats all. She has an actual name, but I’m maintaining my veil of blog secrecy. LOL…I can’t put in enough details to identify me since I want to be 100% honest in the blog. I’ll write a pre midnight update today. Sitting in the hospital for the next two days I’ll have plenty of time to knock around here.

In related news, Wii Fit is fun, but is now sitting unused in my apartment which I cannot return to till Tuesday. Recommended!

Ndiâ€“ Thanks for the heads up. That forum is mad scary, but I will be hitting Target for new ponies ASAP.

On another note, it warms my heart to be congratulated by all of you â€“ it’s fun to know the great times we remember on XE can be passed on to new generations. Kool-Aid, My Little Ponies and all the good stuff of scary movies for my little one! I’m ordering Friday the 13ths’ boxed set now, so Thunder Punch won’t see it. Ha ha!

On another note (yes, another), this is a GREAT blog entry. I’ve often wondered if people did what I did and had little luxuries they allow themselves. For me, it involved two items as a kid.
1. A positively enormous purple mug I got for Christmas one year. If I got down or sad during the day, I’d fill the whole thing with chocolate milk and nurse my troubles away.
2. The “Feet Blanket” as we called it â€“ two big foot prints in the middle, yellow and brown, came from the 70s, looked at home in Jack Trippers’ place.

Mom and I would cover up with it when I was little, and it always brought me comfort. If I had a REALLY bad day, it would end with a beanbag chair, me covered in the Feet Blanket, and drinking chocolate milk while watching Empire Strikes Back. If you did all these things, unhappiness was banished no matter the occasion.

As for ritual stress-relieving activities, I can’t believe no one’s mentioned the obvious yet. I remember doing it ever since I was 4!

Aww, congrats, Terror Claws! Had she waited a day, Tiny Claws would have shared a birthday with me. (But Star Wars is pretty awesome, too.)

Wow, you gotta work Memorial Day? Yuck. Sorry man. BTW, I’ve confined my baby updates to my blog for now so you can follow those there. Weird, but I feel like I’m really in an XE vibe.

I enjoyed the new Indy, though the plot definitely takes a very strange turn at the end that seems different from the other ones. My cousin said he saw part of the set in New Haven, CT last year (not the actual filming, just the vintage cars and storefronts).

Hey Leigha, you may be interested to know I have some relatives in the Storm Lake, Iowa area (NW Iowa in general). Most of my family’s from Connecticut, so it was interesting to run into family members way out there.

CONGRATULATIONS Terror Claws! OR should I now call you DADDY claws ? lol. Glad to hear about the awesome news. I’m sure you’ll be a great dad. Oh and it’s OBVIOUS the force had a hand in your daughter bein born on the same day Star Wars first came out .=) But then again i’m sure you knew that. =)

TERROR CLAWS!!! CONGRATS! I wish i was born in the 80’s… lol. I was born with Pokemon (1993… so I was with it from Bulbasaur). So, Tiny Claws… great name! I think your in for a great expeirence. You AND Thunder (So I guess… I don’t know from expierence. Wishing Tiny all the best in this thing called life. Aaron.

Welcome to the fatherhood club, TCC!! Say goodbye to sleep but hello to love.
Congrats, man.

I have been a long time reader, but only posted maybe 2 or 3 times a couple of years ago. I just wanted to say congrats to Terror Claws and that I totally agree with fully immersing your daughter in 80’s stuff. We are expecting our daughter in August and have already started collecting Fraggle Rock and Punky Brewster dvd box sets for her. We are big toy collectors, so she already has many My Little Ponies and Barbie dolls (250 to be exact) waiting for her. My husband is going to cover the comic book and Star Wars aspect of geekdom for her. We are so excited. Poor thing never had a chance at “cool”. Congrats again!

I want to do an H word: Hamiltons! I just saw the movie on the SciFi channel because I’m actually willing to stay up until 5:30am to review the sucker.

It was tons of fun.

On a less horrific note, congrats to the Claws Clan on a brand new.. Gemini? I think that’s right.. at any rate sounds like you guys’ll be fun parentals

and nice article, too. Always fun to learn about new ways of avoiding stress. Too bad blankets and Arizona don’t mix well most of the year lol

Congrats Terror Claws. Make sure Tiny Claws starts her own website in about 20 years talking about todays pop culture. Can you imagine talking about Indy 4, Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Harry Potter, etc. 20 years from now?

Who said what about Indiana Jones and New Haven, CT? Tell me EVERYTHING you know about New Haven, CT because that’s where I’m going tomorrow!!!

I like my coffee like I like my women…ground up and in a can…no, seriously, I like it with flavored cream and sugar…

The bar and car chase scenes of Indy were filmed in New Haven. My cousin lives there and said he saw part of the set with all the old cars and such. They even repainted the street so all the pavement markings look like they did in the ’50s. I’m not completely familiar with the city so I don’t know where exactly they were filming, though it was definitely around the Yale campus. I think part of it may have been on the main campus quad and the City Green.

Congrats on Tiny Claws too! Although no offense, but I’d much rather have her get into ’80s pop culture than today’s. But hopefully the pop culture scene may have improved 20 years from now.

Hey all! Thanks yet again for the well wishes. Staring to feel like the Manimal clan around here!

Just got awesome news: I found Itoen brand “Tea’s Tea” pure Green Tea in large bottles here at Target! It’s sooo delicious and the only “real” green tea on the market â€“ it’s what I drank in Japan, even down to the brand. So Thunderpunch and I will be kicking back with some green tea to relax. Tiny Claws has to wait though.

Congratulations, TCC! I wish I was in a position to have a baby right now. Wait, that didn’t sound right.

I’m probably gonna go see Indy 4 on like Friday or Saturday or something. There’s a theatre not far from here where the matinee shows are $3.50. Fuck yes. So I will actually be able to afford seeing all the movies I want to see this summer.

Anyway, I’m fighting a battle against roaches. The pest control guys gave us a miss not once, but twice, and now I keep finding dirty little roachy bastards in my kitchen. I went out and got some Borax and put that out in all the nooks and crannies, and then sealed up all of said nooks and crannies with caulk, but I’ve still seen two roaches since then. I am really pissed off. Does anybody have any suggestions for getting rid of the fuckers?

I am from Colorado and one of the best comfort activities for me was to open the window and turn on the fan in the middle of the winter. Then I would hunker down under tons of blankets to sleep. Something great about knowing that the cold outside was not able to get under my fortress. Awesome.

We’re having our usual Weekend Sale here at work, but since it’s usually petty slow on the actual Day, we can close up early and go out and about.

And a hale and hearty “Woo-hoo!!!” for Terror Claws on the expansion pack for his family! Take care of the squab, she’ll be worth it.

Bombs. Not like grenades, but the insect bombs you have to leave your house for and hide all food. Look for any areas with exposed food. Food in plastic sacks should go in Tupperware to reinforce its roachproofness.

After bombs, spray all entrances and windowsills with roach kill spray that will last up to 2 weeks (good stuff, works on ants too).

Lastly, after protecting the food, bombing them (fumigation) and entrance sprays, you MIGHT be able to get rid of em. DO NOT rely on only one method. The more poison the better â€“ do it now before you have kids. I just went through the throw out the old stuff phase so I could buy organic and earth friendly cleaners. Not cause I love the earth, but because they won’t kill you if you drink em, which is now a concern.

Hey, don’t mean to double post, and I know this shows my lack of seriousness as an XE-er, but can anyone give me a post Xmas recap on the Day 23 thread from last AC? I’m mega curious if there’s stuff going down that will lead into this year’s AC. Spanks in advance.

so…saw Indy 4….OMG!!! It made me feel like I was 10 again! What a great great film. I have to admit, I was a little little smidgen dissapointed with the kind of cheezy but cute ending. Also…I felt so immersed in the movie, as If I was actually there! I was literally on the edge of my seat shoving puff corn(pop corn without the hulls) in my face and ducking and dodging and gasping and screaming with everyone else…wow. My first indy movie in a theater.

Here’s a fun survey…Do you sneak your own snacks into the theater? I do because I can’t really eat the popcorn, and the sodas are flat or seltzery with no syrup hardly and cost like 4 bucks for one. My most interesting snack I have snuck in theaters was…a cheesy beefy quesadilla and soft taco from taco bell …along with a large soda also from taco bell( I have a special “movie purse” that is extra roomy and easy to sneak things in.

mandy reeves i’ve snuck stuff into the theater almost every time iv’e went. =)

Mandy_Reeves:
Nope, but the first time I ever had Taco Bell was at my local theater.
It’s like a concession stand deal, and it’s the only Taco Bell in my province.
It was really bad though, I’d like to try real Taco Bell to see how it compares.

Congrats to Terror Claws!
And Mandy,you KNOW I always sneak something in to the theater with me! I haven’t bought a concession stand item in over a decade!

Wow indeed! I even recognized a couple of the songs in that medley. I’m guessing that was just some kind of hack or something because I don’t see any human being pulling that off with a controller.

My plan failed, I couldn’t get him alone.

But I did manage to sneek a kiss on the cheek at the end of the night.

mandy_reeves… I snuck a king size reeses, king size resses sticks, king size twiz and 2 cokes when I saw Spidey 3 (or was it Shrek 3) without a purse (I’m a guy is the main reason 4 no purse). When I saw Iron Man I scalled it down to a small bag of cheapo candy and I BOUGHT a drink… wow.

Quite a few of those songs were by Aya Hirano, a very popular Japanese idol singer/anime voice artist; at least at the moment. “15 minutes of fame” is practically literal in the Japanese music industry.

There are a few SMW videos like that. No controllers are used except for maybe doors and the very beginning move to get the level started. Its just different blocks and things to make Mario move. I can’t even begin to imagine how much time it takes to create those things!!

Hey kids, long time, no see! Can’t talk for long, I’ll do more of that tomorrow…Just dropping you guys a line to say I’m on the radio right now for anyone who wants to listen. Streaming right here:

I missed all the SNT fun. Well, this is my first time really getting online since Friday afternoon. Looks like there was plenty of talks. I’ll check back later.

It sounds really cool Matt (the super big blanket & electric heater combo) but that really is a huge fire hazard.

Yeah I could go for some nappy goodness right about now even though I’m not long up.

Is that the first time the blog has gotten spammed?
I cant recall any other time.

JoshC: I think it’s because my naps were interrupted all weekend! Those darn neighbor kids on Sunday and yesterday some religious lady came knocking…really?! On Memorial day! So, now I’m lacking a bit of sleep.

Where I live, nobody comes knocking. You never know what you’re going to find on the other side of a harmless looking door. And if they DO knock, better not answer! Could be a maniacal goon or a small child selling candy, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Speaking of safety. Why is it wrong to slurp the sticky goodness of 20 year old tinted honey, but A-OK to wrap a flammable blanket around a heater fan and go unconscious under it? Something is fishy.

JoshC I don’t know anymore since the spam filter improvements and such, but I know over a year ago I looked through some of the blog archives and saw repeated spam just like that one. A bunch of globby gook and links to various websites. Posting and reposting over and over about 10 posts in a row. I think they were dating sites but I don’t remember.

Cameron T: I believe you were the one who answered my question in the post-it section a few blogs back. I was asking if it was true that a new X-Files was coming out and you said yes, but thought it may come out next summer. It is coming out this summer, July 25th is the date. I saw a trailer online and it looks good. Mulder’s his old quirky self, Scully’s hotter than ever! I hope Skinner’s in it because you can’t have a good X-Files story without Skinner. Throw in the Cigarrette Smoking Man and you have a two-hour reunion movie on your hands. I guess this is my next anticipated movie next to The Dark Knight.

Oh speaking of The Dark Knight, does anybody know if Harvey Dent is supposed to become Two-Face in the movie or is he just Harvey Dent like Billy Dee Williams was in the first movie? All the trailers just show him as Harvey when they’re not concentrating on the Joker or Bruce Wayne/Batman. I’d say if he doesn’t become Two-Face, what’s the point of having him in the movie? Just a thought.

BJ, I’m pretty sure that Harvey will become Two-Face in the next movie. If it’s like the end of Batman Begins, it may either happen or be foreshadowed at the very end of Dark Knight.

Because if he did you’d KNOW that they’d show some appearance of him as Two-Face. Advertisers today just can’t be trusted with secrets & spoilers.

In an interview last year, Aaron Eckhart told MTV that he is playing both roles in this movie. Obviously that could have changed, but I think that we’ll see the transformation from Harvey Dent to Two-Face at the end of Dark Knight. The website I have linked says “Page not found” but if you highlight the page you can see a message. It’s just “HA ha ha…” but there are a few extra letters that give a hint as to something coming in the future. (a new trailer maybe?)

Ohh- I sooooo could have used a blanket-heater combo this weekend. I was out all weekend visiting family- and becuase there’s SO MUCH FAMILY, most of the gatherings are held outside. And it was unseasonably cold this weekend so my body is just BURNED OUT from trying to keep myself warm. Yech.
I ended up spending most of Monday inside, resting my sore muscles and reading a borrowed copy of World War Z.
I really need to stop the Zombie Obsession- I know the shit gives me nightmares, but I eat it up with a spoon anyway.
PS- Diary of the Dead is actually pretty good. Saw it Friday- and really enjoyed both the plot and the social commentary of “hiding behind the camera”… cause it’s damn fuckin’ true.

Actually, there’s a moment in the latest Dark Knight trailer that shows Harvey Dent sitting in a car with a gun and if you look close, you can see some faint scarring on the other side of his face…ooooooooooohhhhhhhhh…..

Kittymao there’s nothing wrong with Zombie Obsession, I’ve been obsessed for years now! It doesn’t give me nightmares (very often) but I do have the occasional weird Zombie dream. And I thought Diary of the Dead was a good way to reboot the whole Dead series. And World War Z is an awesome read.

Speaking of spoilers, I dug them up for the Sex and the City movie this morning. It sounds just like a really bad episode stretched out to feature length, pretty much as I expected. I wonder when I went from earnestly loving that show to half loving/half hating it.
Drinking a Sierra Mist Undercover Orange now. Expected it to taste like Sunkist based on what people have said, but it’s really just a splash of mandarin. Not bad

squee,
I thought the same thing. Undercover Orange tastes like Sierra Mist with a shot of Absolut Mandarin, but without the warm fuzzy feelings afterward

Praise all your healthy little pancreases. I am cowering under the watchful moustache of Wilford Brimley at all times, and Beetus prohibits me from munching all the sodas and cereals and candies that other X-E readers crave!

You just perfectly described my day, and exactly what I need to recover from it!

Hey matt:
Didja know you’re the number one result for a google search of “Blue Snaggletooth”?

Any body seen the trailer for the new hulk flick ? I think it looks awesome. I’m real jazzed to see it.

Hey kids, nice to finally be posting again. I’ve been incredibly sick the past week and have been really busy with work (that is, when I’m not getting sent home from work for being too sick). Turns out, I must have funked up the whole office cause several people have been calling out of work since I showed up with the plague. I’m only just now getting over it, but I feel 100% better now. I just went back and looked at the past week’s worth of articles and really wanted to actually read all of the comments but honestly just couldn’t be bothered cause there were so many. I’m sure it was all fun conversation, but I’m just going to jump in now. Hopefully I didn’t miss too much. Love that scary Freddy stick thing, though. That was wild. Now I gotta try the Sierra Mist Undercover soda. Hopefully I won’t get as hooked on that as I was with Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash. I’m still shaking off the DT’s from that 2 month bender.

I thought Indian Jones was pretty good and definitely had its moments, but some of it was a little drawn out too long and there was way too much emphasis on CGI that was completely unnecessary. A lot of what happened could have been pulled off just as well 20 years ago with practical effects and would have been a lot more effective. Aside from that, I really enjoyed it.

mandy_Reeves, I’ve been known to sneak food into the theater from time to time, but oddly enough, aside from the ridiculous prices, I actually like theater popcorn, and it’s one of the things I look forward to the most when going. I’ve become a sort of popcorn afficianado when it comes to the theaters around here. I know which ones have the best popcorn and which ones aren’t that great. I try to eat fairly healthy these days, but it’s one of my undeniable vices-the saltier and butterier the better. Basically, what I want is a heart attack in a bag. And a giant cup of Dr. Pepper or Mr. Pibb. That’s what I’m going for. Then a nap followed by a stomach ache and a lot of guilt. The next weekend-wash, rinse, repeat.

Terror Claws, Congrats! Nice to know someone’s on the job of bringing up the next generation of X-E’ers.

BJ, Yes, it’s been confirmed all over the place that Two Face will most definitely appear at some point in the movie. My personal theory is that the Joker has something to do with it and it will set everything up for Two Face to be the main villain the in the third movie. Like someone said before, if you look close in the trailer you can see a quick shot of him with the face already scarred, but given that you’re looking at him from his “good side”, you can’t see much. A while back a supposed photo got leaked to the net of what he’s going to look like in the movie. Several websites said that Warner Brothers yanked it all over the place once it started popping up, but it might still be bogus. No way to know right now. But, if you kind of don’t mind spoiling it for yourself, I found it. It’s right here:

ULTRAMAN, Can’t wait for Hulk. The CGI looks a little cartoony, but it’s still going to be loads better than the first one. Looks like it’s going to the Hulk movie we’ve been waiting for. I can’t think of a better choice than Edward Norton. He can pretty much do no wrong as far as I’m concerned. I like that there’s going to be references to the TV show too–like when he’s exposed to the gamma radiation he’ll be sitting in the giant curved chair thing just like in the old show. Awesome.

I saw Indy this weekend. It was stomachable. But not great. The dialog was just so BAD, but it almost made it good. That makes no sense. My favorite line…”the space between the spaces.” I laughed.

Glad your feeling better DJ D.
And Ultraman I’m looking forward to the Hulk too. From what I heard the final fight between the Hulk and the Abomination takes up the last 23 minutes of the fim.

I’ve never had a zombie dream, but I’ve had a vampire dream. I was my fraternity’s chaplain for a year, and I dreamed that there were a colony of vampires (all fraternity brothers) in the closet where we kept our secret initiation stuff. Me and the remaining non-vampire brothers were going to kill the colony during the day, but we kept putting it off. They were convinced that, as chaplain, I could bless water and make it holy. I knew I couldn’t. So once dusk hit, we went downstairs and tried to kill the vampires. My non-brothers were killed while ineffectually throwing tap water on the vampires. I was the last one alive, and then I woke up.

For the sneaking-stuff-into-theaters survey, my favorite thing to sneak in is beer. I have an extra-large parka with lots of pockets, so it really only works in the winter.

I was under the impression that you could make holy water by just blessing tap water.. Damn you From Dusk Till Dawn.

Oh hell yea, I been a huge Hulk fan from birth!!! I liked parts of the first one, but I have a strong feeling this one will be much better overall. With that being said, NOTHING will ever top the ’70s TV show. Bixby and Lerrigno FTW!!!!

They’ve already shown what happens to Harvey Dent in a trailer and showed him from a normal half angle after it.

YAY DJ D is back. I was growing concerned like a mother. it was a tad odd. hopefully the show went well.

And Yay Leigha is….here too! Thanks for being concerned, “Mom.” I’m feeling loads better now, but last week I was suffering from The Black Death. I honestly just didn’t feel like doing anything other work and sleep and couldn’t even muster up the motivation to keep up with any blogging type stuff. I got way behind though.

Yeah, the show went well. Actually, it was one of the best I’ve ever done. Had lots of fun, especially since I had a bunch of requests and a whole slew of X-E’ers IM’ing the whole time and keeping me company.

Oop, I forgot to mention that I posted the playlist in the blog section on my MySpace if anyone wants to check it out. I put up the playlists to all the shows there. Just do the clicky thing on my name.

I’m looking forward to Hulk. When the first one hit, Little Brother (Who’s the main fan of ol’ Jade Jaws in the family) was down from Kansas, and he said the day before, “I’m going to Lawton to see one of the first showings in the morning. If any of you want to go, be ready, ’cause I am not going to wait!” You bet your bippy we were up and ready.

There is a Strong Bad Email about what bugs SB when he goes to the movies, and there is a funny gag about the King of Town sneaking in sizzling fajitas. And a mariachi band.

Just got back from Wal-Mart where I got my hands on all three of the new Mountain Dew flavors plus the new “mystery” Doritos. Haven’t tried any of them yet.

I think I also spotted two flavors of Hershey Kisses I haven’t tried before but didn’t buy: Vanilla Nougat and Cookies ‘n’ Cream.

Just got off the phone with Sprint customer service. GOD! I’m so pissed right now! First I hung up with the first guy because I literally couldn’t understand him. His accent was so thick (Indian, I’m guessing–no surprise there) that I couldn’t make out anything he was telling me. By the time I called the second time I was logged onto the website because I thought might find my answers there. Wrong. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. The reason I was calling in the first place was that they had sent me a letter saying that the $250 deposit I gave them back when I first started the account a year ago was now going to be refunded to me. I had the option of either having it credited to the account or just sent to me in the form of a check. Being that I’m planning on moving in a couple of weeks and money’s kind of tight, I wanted the cash. Well, first off, the website said that it had already been credited to last month’s bill, but the credit was only for $100, not $250. That was question #1. Question #2 that I had is why I haven’t actually recieved a paper bill in the mail for 2 months now. Question #3 is why that they have it worded that after the $100 credit is applied, my “TOTAL DUE” is now $12.05, when in fact, the $12.05 is what was left over, that they owe me. The bill itself was only for $87.95, so the wording is really confusing, especially since right next to the summery of that bill is the “TOTAL DUE” for this month, which is obviously a totally different amount.

Well, not surprisingly, after putting me on hold forever the chick I was speaking to (who I could understand a little better than the first guy) said that after speaking to a supervisor and checking the records that I only paid $100 for the deposit a year ago and that’s why it had already been applied. BULLSHIT! I remember paying the $250 and I’ve got a letter in my hand saying I’m getting it back. So, I spoke to the supervisor myself and got nowhere, so I’m getting screwed out of my $150 now!

DJ D Check out the site consumerist.com. It is a site dedicated to highlighting the unfair and ridiculous things corporations do and often has information on how to get what you deserve. Do a search for “Sprint” and you should be able to find the email addresses for some of the higher-ups in the customer service department.

Thanks DarkSide, I might check that out. Sorry about the rant. I was just so pissed about that, and how easily it is to get screwed by these people. It wasn’t just the money that made me so mad, it was the layout of the website and how completely confusing it is, as well as the fact that it’s next to impossible these days to call any kind of customer service line and get someone who I don’t know…actually speaks English. Is that too much to ask? I guess so. Alright, I’m going to go downstairs and make myself some dinner now. Got some pork loins to cook up, and I think I’ll sit down and watch a movie while I’m eating. If there’s time, I might run up to the comic book store. That’ll make this day better.

Ans speaking of taste sensations, has anyone seen the “Limited Edition” Pringle’s flavors at Wal-Mart? The Mac ‘n’Cheese is ok, but I kinda dig the Cheeseburger flavor.

I am totally amped for the Hulk. Not so much for this movie but more for the planned Avengers movie. It is going to be AMAZING if they can pull it off with all the actual actors that played Iron Man, Hulk, etc… It would be the best coming together of childhood idols since I saw Destroy All Monsters on the Saturday TV movie as a kid.

The loins were super tasty by the way. I really impressed myself with my cooking prowess. I had the pork loins, steamed veggies, brown rice, and a biscuit. Yum-yum. Then, I topped it off with some Oreos. Now I’m off to the comic book store to get the new issue of Batman that came out today. Then I’ll come home and watch a movie and get some blog reading done. Giddyup.

Avengers will be awesome if they can pull it off. Too bad about that Jusice League movie. Who knows when, or if, we’ll ever see that thing.

I was also bummed about the JLA as well. I think it will be a miracle if that ever actually gets done. Avengers will either be GREAT or a completely over the top disappointment a la X3. It also depends on which version of the team they pick. I could see Marvel selling out and putting later “members” like Spiderman and Wolverine in it just to drum up hype.

HA!! I am watching XMen 3 on my computer right now! And yes, what a steaming pile of wrong. They screwed everything up SOOOO badly. Makes a fangirl cry.

Yeah, X3 had its moments that I liked, but overall it was a huge diappointment. There was so much potential there that wasn’t taken advantage of. One thing I’ve always wanted to see was Iceman “icing up” and flying around on his ice slide thing that he does. We got to see the ice up, but I don’t see why they couldn’t have had him use his ice slide thing at least once. I’ve always thought he was a really underrated X-Man and has always been one of my favorites on the team. Also, such a tease with the Sentinel head! Would it be too much to ask to see one full sized Sentinel walking around in an X-Men movie? And what was with everybody dying?

Oh well, at least we got Wolverine and Magneto coming up soon. From what I’ve read, a young Beast will show up in the Magneto movie and Gambit’s going to be in Wolverine. That should be interesting.

Drew Do,I don’t care if the original Avengers,the Defenders,the X-Men and Alpha Flight all team up to fight Arcade,Big Wheel,Dr. Doom and the Sinister Six,nothing,and I mean NOTHING beats Destroy All Monsters. Nothing.

Kingklash, you keep knocking me out with the wit and I’m going to have to send you a trophy.

Anyone seen the new Mt.Dews? I think they are purple and maybe blue. Haven’t tried them yet, but I probably will.

Also, we need a good survey question. But I am terrible at thinking of them. Anyone?

Hey all from the land of baby poo and movie rentals. The wife and I are both off for a month, so we’re chillin. Last night (first at home) baby couldn’t get milk out of mom, so it was a toughie. Didn’t see the backs of my eyelids till 5:30 AM. Got it down now though.

We rented Cloverfield, and I’m five minutes into it. Makes me feel dumb for skipping it in the theatre, but honestly these days I feel better with my own snacks and watching my giant TV. Theatres are now crappier than my home.

I wish I had a good question to ask â€“ I tried to ask about everyone’s equivalent of Matt’s post, but everyone who wanted to already responded.

OK, I’ve got one: What movie did you watch the first five minutes of that you thought would be AWESOME, that turned out to be just OK or even bad?

I always thought it would have been cool to introduce Angel in X-Men 2, and have Apocalypse turn him into Archangel in Part 3. That would have rocked. Oh well…woulda, shoulda, coulda…

Terror Claws, Not to beat a dead horse, but I would have to say the aforementioned X-Men 3. I was so jazzed, especially after seeing the trailers and getting amped for all the good things about it, and there were good things, but just ended up disappointed by the lack of potential of what could have been, and the ridiculous decision to kill off so many major characters. It’s worth a viewing, especially if you’re a comic book geek, but as a comic book geek, there was just as much about it that pissed me off as made me cheer.

OK, not to break my own question chain, but watching Cloverfield, WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL ME IT IS THIS AWESOME?!?!

The surround sound is scaring Tiny Claws however. Wow, so much to like. Monster looks awesome, and the aspects of it you see make you think its a different kind each time (sea monster, Godzilla, etc). WOW, awesome!!

Umm for me, any of the odd numbered Star Treks, or especially Indiana Jones 4. An hour of cool movie, followed by confusing crap. That sucked.

I gotta go with DJ D and say X-3, a close runner up is the American “Godzilla”. I bought into the hype only to be crushed with dissapointment. Ok I officially change my answer to “Godzilla”, that movie just sucked.

X-Men 3 and Spidey 3 are watchable, but nothing special compared to the previous ones.

The movie I think is kinda overrated is “Batman Begins.” I’ve even heard people say it’s the best Batman movie ever, but it did nothing for me. It’s not bad, but it felt like a emotionless Cliff Notes version of Batman to me. It got alot of things right, but I didn’t feel the excitement.

Recently, I think “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” kinda sucks. There were some chuckles, but too few plus the movie was overly long. No way is it a comedy classic. But I’d rather watch that again then the dreck of “Bad Santa.” I didn’t laugh once during that.

I personally LOVED Bad Santa ! For me comedies are pretty hit and miss. Either it’s funny or not, simple as that. Every now and then i’ll watch one that’s in between , but most of the time it’s one or the other. As for a movie I thought was going to be awesome , but VERY quickly realized that I wasn’t going to like it, sweeney todd. I didn’t know it was a musical, I don’t like musicals.

Haha Terror Claws I think we adequately sang the praises of Cloverfield around here. I tried to do my part, anyway. Speaking of, I finally got my Slusho! shirts the other day (they’re awesome).

I was pretty disappointed by Pirates 3. It wasn’t horrible, but it was just…kind of lame. It did start off pretty strong, too.

I saw a commercial today for a bunch of truly amazing Hulk board games…Hulk Operation, Don’t Wake Hulk and something called Hulk Smash, which looks like the most fun game ever.

You’re alive! I’ve been going to this site for years and for the past few months, I’d gone to the mainpage and it hasn’t chaged since February so I figured there’ve been no updates. Then I actually click on the blog link and sure enough there are blog updates, they’re just not appearing on the mainpage…. What gives?

Morning X-E’rs! I’m starting my day off with a breakfast of Grandma’s cookies and tea. I wish I had some loins now.

Hey matt, are you going to review the new version of Hulk Hands that they made for this new movie? Because you should!

Everyone seems to love “Nightmare Before Christmas” except me. That’s a cure for insomnia for me.

I will think of you all as I chomp on hot grilled loins later tonight. Loins is one of those words, where the longer you ponder it, the more ridiculous it seems. Loins.

I thought Bad Santa was hilarous. Watching that movie was my first exposure to an Advent Calendar. I had no idea what one was before that. Little did I know I would look forward to them every Christmas, thanks to my second exposure to Advents. Can’t wait for this year’s! Anybody else getting the Halloween vibe kind of early? I think we talked about this already, but I’m getting jazzed about finally having my own place that I can decorate. I want to go ahaed and start buying stuff now.

Hulk Hands this time don’t look that great. I don’t know, I think the cloth just makes them kind of weak. They seemed bigger the first time around. Hulk Operation??? I gotta see that. I remember the original Operation nearly giving me a nervous breakdown at the age of 10.

Oh, I just read that J.K. Rowling is writing a prequel to the Harry Potter books, but get this, she’s not going to publish it and sell it to the public. Instead she’s going to sell one copy of it to an auction to raise money for charity. How lame is that? Would it not make more since to just publish it like usual and just give all her earnings to charity? That would raise a lot more money and make the fans a lot happier. Somehow I think it will st