X-Entertainment.com X-Entertainment UGO
X-Entertainment is still feeling pretty bad about those lobsters.

07/01/2008: X-E’s ‘08 Summer Megaparty: Otter Pops.

Welcome to X-Entertainment’s ill-prepared 2008 Summer Megaparty: Your special hub for all kinds of summery goodness and stuff. THE RULES ARE SIMPLE! I hereby vow to post at least once a day for the entire month of July…possibly longer if I don’t hate writing by August.

I honestly have no idea what I’m going to write about this month. Like, no clue at all. I had a few ideas for semi-special blog posts that have been rattling around my head for the past few months, but for the most part, I’m totally gonna wing this. Meaning? I’m probably going to end up living by the letter of the law and not the spirit. All I said was that I would post everyday. I didn’t say what I would post. If I sketch a retarded penguin on a bank deposit slip, scan it and publish it, I’ve technically made good on my promise.

I’ll try not to do that, though. Not often, at least.

I guess I didn’t do much to pump you up for the month to follow with what’s written above, and in a case such as this, I turn to a reliant, rushed graphic to do the hard sell.


Are you excited now? At least a little more? Good. I worked really hard on finding the right picture of a watermelon.

I’m happy to do the Megaparty, because I’m not sure I’d stay conscious of the fact that it’s even summertime without it. Summer definitely loses its status as “favorite season” as you grow older, when it becomes indicative of nothing more than a change in climate. That’s a far cry from the lost days of having two months to do nothing but play tag and trick your friends into stepping on dog shit.

I don’t expect that too many of the Megaparty’s posts will be actively seasonal, because if I had to inject sunshine into every entry, I wouldn’t just go bananas…I’d turn into one. I would transform into a giant banana, and this isn’t good for any of us because bananas cannot write, let alone work a computer. Still, expect a fair share of entries that at least nominally persuade you to make the most of your summer, even if all you’re really doing is eating popsicles when they’re in season.


I was surprised to find boxes of Otter Pops on sale at a local pharmacy. We’ve never had Otter Pops around these parts, and my only prior experience with their icy, sugary glories was at my brother’s family’s former house somewhere in Jersey. They had like seven thousand Otter Pops stacked in a garage freezer with positively no explanation given. I should’ve investigated this, but I guess I was more about eating Otter Pops than finding out why they had seven thousand of them. It’s hard to connect criminal activity to Otter Pops, when you have 7,000 of ‘em tucked away in a hidden freezer, the reason likely isn’t appropriate for children of all ages.

Though I was quick to grab a box and make the embarrassing stroll up to the pharmacy cashier with nothing but Otter Pops and a pack of Bic pens in my fluorescent handcart, I don’t have the nostalgic attachment to these things that so many others probably do. To me, they’re just Fla-Vor-Ices with pool dick and kooky characters on the condoms.

As a child, my favorite Fla-Vor-Ice (or any similar brand of icy pop things) colors were red and green. While I indeed preferred red for its actual flavor, it’s also true that I liked the way other colors tasted way better than green. Still, I always picked red or green, or both if nobody was looking. Simple reason why:


Red and green Fla-Vor-Ice pops were my own personal Vader and Luke lightsabers, new and improved with edibility. The similarity in color is truly remarkable. There are many shades of red and many shades of green, but somehow, red and green Fla-Vor-Ices are a Photoshop-dropper-match for Vader and Luke’s lightsaber colors. In a world full of ugly coincidences, it was nice to find one so beautiful.

PS: Longtime least favorite frozen icy pop color? Pink. Hate pink. Still don’t know what in the fuck it’s supposed to taste like. My running assumption’s been that food conglomerates sought to mimic the color and taste of that horrible liquid cure-all doctors force on children for every possible ailment. I still don’t know what it was named. I just called it “pink medicine,” typically with a frightened tone.

Tomorrow on X-E’s Summer Megaparty:

You might want to do a F5-style refresh on the blog. I did some light graphics tweaks that you may not see if your browser insists on being a cache Nazi. Rest of the graphics and the 2008 edition of X-E’s Summer Jukebox coming this week!


Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

Bookmark and Share


Discussion Thread: 282 comments

1 ... 4 5 6

Brian
How the hell is it a fail? There’s still 6-7-8 hours left of 7/2. Matt doesn’t have to make his post the SECOND it turns the next day, you know…

Gah…

Ghosted by Cameron T. @ 07/02/2008 6:33 PM EDT


Uh…yeah, give Matt a break. Geez. He doesn’t live for X-E, you know. He has a job and other things to do too. Plus there’s still plenty of time for an update today.

Ghosted by Annette @ 07/02/2008 7:09 PM EDT


Doho – i guess you could say they were diced, but they were more rectangular if anything. And Brian, don’t be a troll…you gotta have more faith in Mr. Matt! He may have his stretches where he disappears but he pretty much sticks to his daily posts when he promises it. And even if he misses a day or two It’ll be ok! I’ll live to see another day!

Ghosted by phunqsauce @ 07/02/2008 7:20 PM EDT


Although we all greatly appreciate new posts, we understand that Matt has a life outside of this website. Even if he does miss a post, clearly we can all find something to talk about in the meantime. I mean, there has been constant conversation on this thread all day long. Give him a break.

Ghosted by earthwormgoddess @ 07/02/2008 7:26 PM EDT


just don’t promise if you can’t deliver.

My blog is going to give away 1000 dollars every day of summer. Make sure you refresh and visit multiple times.

It may not be every day BECAUSE I’M POLITE AND DON’T PROMISE THINGS I CAN’T DELIVER.

Ghosted by Anonymous @ 07/02/2008 7:39 PM EDT


*rolls eyes*
Hoser.

Ghosted by kittymao @ 07/02/2008 7:52 PM EDT


I’d like to point out that it is still July 2nd. There have been no broken promises yet.

Ghosted by earthwormgoddess @ 07/02/2008 7:53 PM EDT


Work dealt me a shitty hand today — I literally just walked in the door. But I will make the deadline, and I don’t have to deal with work again until next week. :)

Ghosted by Matt @ 07/02/2008 8:46 PM EDT


Amazing! I’ve been hanging around here at X-E for the past 4 years and it never ceases to amaze me when some jerk with an over-developed sense of entitlement comes on here and has the audacity to complain about the frequency, content or any other aspect of Matt’s posts. It’s even more impressive when the person posts anonymously!!! I wish people would realize that this isn’t some lame blog with people making snarky comments. This is X- freakin’ E and one of the best communities on the web. Nobody here is drinking the kool-aid…oh, wait, that’s exactly the type of thing we ARE doing… Let’s just say we respect and appreciate what Matt does around here. If it isn’t good enough for you, please feel free to exit and don’t let the door hit you in the butt on your way out!

Ghosted by Saint @ 07/02/2008 8:55 PM EDT


Wow, haven’t been here in a long time, glad to see the site is still alive and kickin! Very excited for the summer megaparty – I’ve been so busy with school (Studying dietetics) haven’t had a chance to stop by since the x-mas countdown.

Ghosted by djspaceace @ 07/02/2008 9:00 PM EDT


work is such an asshole, it always deals me a shitty hand….

Ghosted by drew do @ 07/02/2008 9:11 PM EDT


We all knew it wouldn’t be long before people showed up spouting there junk; it happens every time….

We do as we always do: ignore and move on

Ghosted by Shaunfu @ 07/02/2008 9:26 PM EDT


Word.

Ghosted by JoshC @ 07/02/2008 9:30 PM EDT


Good for you, Matt! Not about getting stuck at the office of course, but about being off for the holiday. I have to work tomorrow but I’ve got Friday off, plus I’m rocking two more 4 day weekends this month, so yay July!
Preach it, Saint! I wish we could get a consensus to just ignore that kind of junk and not even respond. Then again, there’s a bit of grey area between bitching for content and innocently asking when the next update might be. Thankfully most people are grown up enough to tell the difference before they post. But of course this IS still the internet, even if it’s the best place on it, so we can’t expect everybody to be wearing their big kid pants.

Ghosted by squee4242 @ 07/02/2008 9:31 PM EDT


Amen Saint you tell it like it is. =)

Ghosted by ULTRAMAN @ 07/02/2008 9:51 PM EDT


Don’t worry Matt your among friends now. =)

Ghosted by ULTRAMAN @ 07/02/2008 9:53 PM EDT


Amoxicillin I loved that stuff! I also enjoy pepto, I can drink it like water.

As for school lunch menu, our high school had the best hash browns. It was the only thing I ever ate at the cafe. My elementary school didn’t have a cafe, we sat on the floor in the gym eating the lunches we brought from home.

earthwormgoddess First off congrats on the baby! And second, I want to tell you, you are not alone in being pregnant in the summer with nothing to do but force the husband to buy food you saw on X-E! I went thru that, twice! Enjoy it :D

Ghosted by IHAQ @ 07/02/2008 10:03 PM EDT


The account number was a nice touch. Not a big fan of the show, but still, I like what you did there.

Ghosted by xemnuthetitan @ 07/02/2008 10:14 PM EDT


Wow. Why is it we always get the people who never contribute to the blog showing up to bitch and moan about lack of updates? And “anonymous”? What is this, Slashdot? You sir, fail.

Sheesh. Very few things harsh the buzz on XE, and now you’ve made me do it too. You suck.

Ghosted by Terror Claws @ 07/02/2008 10:17 PM EDT


Man lately iv’e been havin a BIG cravin for a Root Beer Float ! I think i’ll go down to my loacl Dairy Queen tommorow and get one.

Ghosted by ULTRAMAN @ 07/02/2008 10:18 PM EDT


Terror Claws don’t let em get to ya. They can only mess up yur buzz if ya let em.

Ghosted by ULTRAMAN @ 07/02/2008 10:21 PM EDT


I was the one who posted about Freaks and Geeks Lonestar…Our cafeteria in middle school had a slushee type machine called Nutri slush…it was half way decent…we had a deli of sorts in Highschool plus a hot food counter. Dominoes Pizza was on Fridays.

i’m kinda bummed, because I had an opportunity to go to Maine to see my dad, step mom and sister and the new labradoodle named Max…but i have school tommorow, and I really don’t have like a hundred some odd dollars for gas to get from NJ to Maine. Its only 6 hour trip but still.

Ghosted by mandy_Reeves @ 07/02/2008 10:26 PM EDT


Sorry, Matt, about wondering where the new one was at 12|00 something last night. Just anxious. no need to rush (no Im not the anomynous). Mine wasn’t even rude. I just feel bad… so how is everyone else doing? Sorry work was that way, Matt. Well, time for R&R, so it’s all good.

Ghosted by Aaron @ 07/02/2008 10:28 PM EDT


I’m curious, does anybody have a Sonic near them? I see commercials for them all the time, but the closest one to my house is 60 miles. The drinks they advertise sound good, but definitely not good enough to drive over an hour to get one. I am just wondering if they are in fact actually good or if they just look and sound good on TV.

Ghosted by Jack @ 07/02/2008 10:32 PM EDT


Jack

I think I have 3 within 5 miles.

They’re OK. Not worth driving 60 miles for.

Ghosted by Cameron T. @ 07/02/2008 10:34 PM EDT


I’ll keep this short:

I thought I was the only one who did the “Vader vs Luke” thing with my popsicles…until today.

Ghosted by …? @ 07/02/2008 10:35 PM EDT


Cafeteria food…. I was in elementary school in the 80’s. I actually liked the food. The hambergers were kept warm in the oven, so the buns were crispy, and they stuck to the meat. When you tried to pull the top bun off, half of the bread would be stuck to the meat. The burgers were plain except for this special sauce that was like thousand island dressing except with more mayo and relish.

We also had taco rolls. Those were great. Basically a burrito filled with meat and cheese, and then deep fried! I think they are called chimichangas at most mexican restaurants. I liked the rectangle pizza. The crust was soft but not doughy. There was never enough cheese.

The fried steak sandwiches were probably a big factor in childhood obesity in my neighborhood. They tasted awesome, though.

Also, we got to choose regular or chocolate milk, and I always got chocolate. We could buy small wax paper cups of ice cream for a quarter and eat it with a little wooden spatula.

One day I bought four of the ice creams with a dollar bill and my teacher bitched at me for being greedy.

After school there was always an ice cream truck nearby. I would buy giant pickles, fun dip, chocolate/banana bomb pops, astropops (you could glue your jaw closed biting down on those), and Now & Laters.

Damnit, now I’m hungry for 80’s junk food.

Ghosted by Hope @ 07/02/2008 11:47 PM EDT


Jack, I have one right up the street. The burgers and tater tots are pretty good (I just think it’s cool that they have tater tots as an option for a side item instead of fries), but I don’t think all the slushies and stuff they advertise are all that great. I think I end up just getting tea anyway when I go there.

Ghosted by DJ D @ 07/02/2008 11:52 PM EDT


I’ve never heard of Otter Pops, but they remind me visually of Tweety pops. Notihng to do with Tweety Bird, but they were (maybe still are) a version of Freezies that are just terrible. The ice is more like crsytalline shards, but the worst part is the throat burning flavour. I remember having them while babysitting. Actual Freezie brand ones are much nicer. Gentler flavour and more slushy inside. I haven’t had one in years, but lately I’ve had a desire for a white one. I don’t know for sure what white is supposed to taste like, but I guess it’s vanilla, because I recently acquired a vanilla Blistex lip sunblock thing, and it tastes and smells just like a white Freezie.

Ghosted by CMJ @ 07/03/2008 2:47 AM EDT


Actually, I just looked up Tweety Pops, and all I can find are some candies with Tweety Bird on them. Not the Tweety Freeze Pops we had. I also just realized what I call traditional Freezies are officially Mr.Freeze Pops by Kisko and are a Canadian company. They’re teh main brand here that you can get off of ice cream trucks and come in jumbo or normal. Jumbo ones are so big that when you eat them as a kid, the rough plastic seam on the tube tends to cut the corners of your small kid sized mouth.

Ghosted by CMJ @ 07/03/2008 2:51 AM EDT


My school used to have these vegetable sticks that I loved…which is weird, because I hate vegetables…I know they had cheese and corn inside and were fried, but that’s all I remember…except for the deliciousness.

Ghosted by Teddy Ray @ 07/03/2008 3:26 PM EDT


CMJ, the white Freezies are cream soda flavoured

Ghosted by Cutie Kitsune @ 07/06/2008 11:35 PM EDT


1 ... 4 5 6

Add A New Comment!