The X-Entertainment Blog

12/26/2008: The Christmas Fallout Thread, 2008.

Christmas was good! Long and tiring, but good! I feel like I haven’t stopped moving for two days, and I’m very much looking forward to a few days of absolute nothingness as I lay all slug-like on the couch, covered in new blankets, new books and new toys.

Wait, shit — I still have to finish the Advent Calendar. Don’t worry, I will.

We spent Christmas Eve at my sister’s, and the basic goal was to polish off the 457 bottles of cheap sake I picked up on the way there. Mission accomplished. Thank God sake isn’t really a “hangover” alcohol. Christmas Day was spent here with the woman’s family, and all went swell. Since I privately loathe turkey, we made two whole chickens instead. They came pre-seasoned in Jiffy Pop-style bags, which expanded into big balloons while in the oven. This visual didn’t make for the classiest Christmas, but it got the job done.

Two signs of a successful holiday: One, I managed to watch A Christmas Story at least three full times during the TBS marathon. Two, I avoided that depressing moment when all of the temporarily-yuletide radio stations switched back to normal pop songs at the stroke of midnight on 12/26.

Before I dive back into the land of Lipton and coconut crabs (admittedly, this won’t occur until I accomplish the aforementioned couch-slug playtime), it’s time for X-E’s annual Christmas Fallout Thread!

You know the drill: It’s time to compare our loot! In the comments, tell everyone what you got for Christmas. It’s the only time of year that we can be shameless in our materialism, and don’t let the few lousy krauts who cry against excess tell you otherwise. If Christmas is a chance for everyone to be seven-years-old, take joy in knowing that few seven-year-olds care about anything other than what’s in their lap.

This year’s haul was fantastic. If I had to hole up in a fallout shelter for a few months with nothing but this year’s Christmas gifts, I’d starve to death, but I definitely wouldn’t be bored. Here are some of the highlights:

Okay, how amazing are these? Your eyes don’t deceive you: They are X-E Advent Calendar coffee mugs. Holy shit. These are from my sister, and since I’m quite sure that she hasn’t been secretly reading the Advent Calendar every morning, this gift took some serious thought. I now have a new favorite coffee mug. (Actually, I have two.) My Archie McPhee and nWo Wolfpac mugs will now be retired. They had a good run.

DVDs! I guess I don’t need to list them since they’re all perfectly visible in the photo, but suffice to say, if nobody hears from me for the next week, don’t buy it if I cite “the flu” or some other such bullshit. The truth is, I’ll be watching Unsolved Mysteries or Friday the 13th: The Series. (PS: That Area 51 Alien Interview thing is so incredibly awesome/horrible that I may need to devote an actual full-length article to its awesomeness/horribleness. Stay tuned.)

I love that watch. I only ever wear jeans and black shirts (any forcible deviation to this makes me bitch like an infant), so color-by-accessories is important. I just like simple, dark clothes — I’m not trying to tell the world that I’m moody. Nobody will think I’m moody (or worse, attempting to look moody) when I’ve got this time-telling acid trip strapped around my wrist. The fact that the watch is officially titled “SHARK” just makes it all the more awesome.

Pictured right: A plush Alien Chestburster. What more needs to be said? The neat thing is, I got a plushie Facehugger last year, so now I have all the tools necessary to make both ends of my couch appear deadly.

For the past few years, my family has included an “elephant swap” as part of our Christmas Eve festivities. Is that the right term? “Elephant swap?”

Basically, everyone buys a gift valued between $25-$40, and we all draw numbers out of a hat to determine the order by which the gifts will be chosen. As the game continues, players can choose to open one of the still-wrapped gifts, or they can steal one of the presents someone else already picked.

I feel like I’m not explaining this correctly, but the bottom line is that I went home with some kind of fucked up straw porcupine doll by way of this game. YES. (The Corona gift set came with him, but who cares about beer when you have straw porcupines?)

I love straw porcupines!

Vodka, tequila and a four-pack of dirty martini mix. Longtime readers know of my love for the dirty martini, and I’ve even tried to get a few of you to try them out individually. Though the original dirty martinis were made with brine straight out of the olive jar, the mixes are infinitely better. If you’re ever going to try one, you *have* to get an actual mix first. Trust me. (And I’ve tried lots of mixes — “Dirty Sue” is my runaway favorite.)

For some unknown reason, I’ve only ever bought myself one bottle of dirty mix at a time. This meant that I could never be as liberal with my pours as I wanted to be. Now that I have four full bottles, I’m free to make the saltiest martini in the history of civilization. And I will, soon enough.

Books! I got a ton of ‘em. Ten are pictured above, and there’s at least another ten that I didn’t bother to take photos of. Pretty much all of my primary interests are covered, from sea monsters to ancient Romans to retired pro-wrestlers and beyond. If you’re curious about what any of the books shown above actually are, feel free to ask in the comments. If you’re not, you are a big stupid head. They’re great books.

Some of the books I didn’t include in the photo spread are just as great. I may edit this post later with additional pictures, for posterity’s sake. I don’t want to thumb through a dinosaur book two years from now and have no way of knowing exactly where it came from.

Wii stuff! Got Wii Fit and Endless Ocean. I really don’t know much about Wii Fit, but from reading blog posts across the web, it seemed like it was worth having. I’m not sure if I can see myself standing on one leg in the middle of my living room just because some virtual yoga instructor tells me to, but I guess stranger things have happened.

And Endless Ocean? Come on, that’s amazing. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to get it. (If any of you own or have played either of these games, I’d love to hear your thoughts before I crack ‘em open.)

Also pictured: A nice little Megatron bust, a four-pack of hot sauces (not hot like Tabasco — hot like fire) and a weird sack marked “Mystery Grab Bag.” I have not opened this “Mystery Grab Bag” and I have absolutely no idea what’s in there. It seems like it’ll make for a good blog entry on a rainy day.

Okay, so every year, my brother gets me wild Tiki-related items. If I had it my way, our entire apartment would look like the Bamboo Lounge from Goodfellas. You may remember a certain 60″ Tiki god statue in the background of several photos over the past few months. That was his gift to me last year. This time, it’s a pair of ridiculous Tiki lamps, which arrived in boxes that were four times larger than they needed to be, kept in place with loose hay. It was just like the leg lamp “fragile” crate, only not really.

Also pictured: A Tiki tissue dispenser and a lava lamp. Everyone needs a Tiki tissue dispenser. The lava lamp is about five times more awesome than I was anticipating, as it’s one of those older style huge ones — not the medium-sized lamps that you’d find at any old department store. Love it.

Ugh — I’m just now realizing that a few of my other gifts really deserve photo-archiving, so I’m definitely going to be editing this post in a little while. For now, let’s get the ball rolling: What did you get this year? (And feel free to talk about how you spent Christmas in general, too!)

PREVIOUS X-E CHRISTMAS FALLOUT THREADS:
2007! - 2006! - 2005! - 2004! - 2003!

Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

Only got a few things this year. Most of our money went to buying our 9 month old presents. Having just graduated from college, and my girlfriend and I are in debt up to our necks. She still managed to get me a few things. I am a huge Masters of the Universe fan. So she got me the He-man and Beast Man classic figures. She also managed to grab a Keldor figure still sealed on ebay. These three things made me feel like I was 8 years old again.

I got the Matt Trakker G.I. Joe, one of the new G.I. Joe B.A.T.s, a MOC Optikk from Mattel’s old 90’s HE-MAN toyline (toys with roating eyeballs for heads = awesome), the NECA TMNT 4-pack & misc. other things (mostly clothes). Not too bad as I did get stuff I wanted…although I still need to head over to Best Buy & snag that 10 Holiday Favorites DVD set before they get rid of them all.

Dave’s hot sauce is not that bad. But Matt, I HIGHLY recomend Blairs. Not only does it taste better but I’m pretty sure Blair’s Death sauce can melt kryptonite.

Normally I can’t stand fallout threads, because they only remind me how richer everybody else’s relatives are than me, and how many more friends they have than me, but…this year I did exceptionally and surprisingly well.

Chrono Trigger DS
Persona 4
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Wall-E
“The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney” by Michael Barrier
$25

I feel fat and happy now, though not literally fat. Pictures of the big Christmas party to come soon.

Matt’s hauls are always the most impressive. I think I speak for everyone when I say the X-E Advent Mug is the best gift in years. Wear it as a hat!

When I got here there were no posts, but I got interrupted by other business before I was finished with this, which probably cost me my #1 spot. Dangit.

I got money (which as a college student is very helpful), slippers, pajamas, makeup, a nice lip balm set, and Smooth Away (as seen on tv!, lol).

New IHome for my Ipod, GI Joe ultimate battle pack, 25th anniversary Starscream, some clothes (including family guy red wool butt flap pj’s!) A new pair of SkullCrusher headphones, new tires for my car and cash. Merry X-emas all!

I got the usual undies/socks/flannel, a Garfield Christmas ornament (it is my favorite Christmas special), the 10th anniversary The Big Lebowski DVD (the one in the bowling ball), some new slippers, cash from Grandpa, and I can’t tell which one is more awesome…my parents got me a Nintendo Wii (and an additional controller and nunchuk set) and my sister and her fiance got me the 22″ officially licensed A Christmas Story Lamp of Leg.

Not a bad year. Got Mario Kart and Animal Crossing (the latter really being for my daughter from my father-in-law) for Wii. The Star Wars 3D Pop-Up Book which kicks ass. Some cash, Transformers Animated DVD, a few books, a few gift cards. Good enough. Honestly, it’s way more fun now just giving things to my daughter now she’s old enough to totally “get” Santa.

This year, I came out with a good haul. I got a bunch of clothes (typical), a Leg Lamp puzzle, a Planet Earth show puzzle, Burzum (death metal- it’s okay), Beirut (awesome band), Tactical Error (I don’t know what it is, but it’s autographed!), a Devil Paperclip holder (essentially a magnetic sculpture!), a Non Sequiter calendar, a Sears Tower Lego model, a 20 dollar Panera gift card, and cash (more Dept. 56!). But my two favorite things are a refridgerator magnet with a picture of David (the statue) on it and Family Practice Foot Chargers. I felt like John Candy with them on…

DVD’s
The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection (so cool)
The Dark Knight
U2 Under A Blood Red Sky Concert
A Christmas Story
30 Rock Season 2
Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 6
Greatest Hell in a Cell Matches
Iron Man

BOOKS
Curb Your Enthusiasm The Book
The Uncomfortable Candid Diary of Kevin Smith
American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies
Uncle Johns Gigantic Bathroom Reader

GAMES
Playstation 3 80gb System
Guitar Hero World Tour Complete Band Set
Metal Gear Solid 4-PS3
Far Cry 2- Xbox 360
A Christmas Story Monopoly

RANDOM
A ton of candy
A Christmas Story Leg Lamp blanket
The Office 2009 Calendar
A leather notebook

The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia currently occupies my time. Sucker weighs like 20 pounds.

Oh Matt by the way, the Bret Hart bio that you got is perhaps the best wrestling book on the market today.

A G.I. Joe Cobra Rattler (had trouble fitting the pilot inside, he’s a new mold). Included the mentioned action
figure. Cobra’s coolest pilot. Wild Weasel. He’s badass.

A trip to Walt Disney World, which we took earlier this
month. I love Space Mountain.

Christmas was swell.. - got a MacBook laptop.. - a real, genuine surprise.. - albeit i did get it a week early because my wife is crazy that way.. - got a bunch of awesome animated series’.. - Silverhawks Vol. 1, all of the recent run of Transformers: Animated, some Bravestarr, and misc. Peanuts holiday specials (Easter and Valentine’s Day) which fit in nicely with the “holy trilogy” (Great Pumpkin, Thanksving, and Christmas.. of course).. - some clothes, a couple CDs, giftcards for grub, etc. - all in all, a very good year.. plus i got my wife and family a lot of neat stuff and enjoyed watching them open all their presents, too..

BUT:
Certificate for THREE full body massages by a powerful swede who can’t get tired and stop until the timer goes off!
Certificate for Romantic Weekend in a fancy hotel with sifu, and big crazy brunch on sunday morning!
Little prostitute doll.
sexy perfume
sexy lipstick and nail polish and eye shadow and nice new brushes
New Lidia Bastianich cookbook
Bizarre cake pans
Tons of clothes
Little Big Planet
handmade weiner dog Christmas tree ornament
My favorite wine
Little portable cooler for the wine
More hats and scarves and gloves than I know what to do with
Foxy robe, for seducing sifu
(other foxy stuff for seducing sifu)
Cash from grandparents. They do this every year, and every year I use it to buy something I will always have.
Halloween ornaments (?)
Creepy santa plates and spoons
Book about French bulldogs
Tons of candles, candies, tree ornaments, etc.
GIANT MARK RYDEN POSTER!!!

It occurs to me I have the girliest list so far, which is not the kind of girl I am, yet every gift was perfect. I still have lots of gifts to come but more than anything I really want that massage.

ohh han. this year I got lots of cool stuff- and did a good job of surprising the CRAP out of my boyfriend because he is convinced I can’t keep secrets. ha HA!

If any of you know me… you know that for the past three years I have been wanting a sewing machine while being insanely scared of owning one.
Well… I have one.
And I’m still scared of it!

Chinese brush-painting set
knit hat, scarf and some nice textured-palm fleece gloves
grey fleece coat- to hide the dog hair, my mum said
a Pomegranate Martini mixer set
A commuter stay-hot mug (plug it into the cigarette adapter and THE DRINK STAYS WARM!)
A shooter mixer set
Dia De Los Muertos Necklace
Lumbar Back Massager
Emily the Strange Sweater
Flowering Teas 12-pack and tea pot
and Spore for the PC!

I did not expect to be walking away from the holiday with more than 3 gifts so I am in awe of everything right now.

Matt:
Ask your sis where the hell she got those things. I FUCKING WANT AN ADVENT MUG!

I didn’t get much this year as my family is spread out and I couldn’t afford to visit, but I did get that slider-maker from TV from a friend and I’m looking forward to trying it out. I’ve never owned a product from TV. I pray TV has not lied to me.

A few gift certificates/cash
Dark Knight DVD
Superman: The Last Days of Krypton novel
A 19-inch Insignia LCD HDTV

Ok, I am reaching out to the XE community here. I got a Wii and I need some feedback on some cool games. If you wish, list 3-5 and give me some pros and cons. I need ideas. Thanks, in advance.

I’ve only had a little bit of Christmas so far…still have three to go and some gifts coming in the mail. So far:

snowblower from my dad (which we got early, TG)
cash from fatherinlaw
sony cybershot camera, huge set of victorias secret heavenly perfume/lotion/body spray/glittery stuff/bodywash, burt’s bees lipbalm set, and mini digital picture frame keychain, all from my husband

I’ve made it to another fallout, but completlely missed the advent calender (working on that now.)
My loot:
A new laptop in which to write and be able to keep in touch with all of you, I miss you silly buggers.
A bunch of manga/comics.
Clothes, money.
And the best thing I could get this Christmas, My mother out of the ICU.
Merry Christmas all you regulars, and to all you new folks that I don’t recognize, Hope to get to know you soon.

Elephant swap is the worst God damn invention in mankind’s history. It’s not an easy thing to make a gift exchange unpleasant, but elephant swap manages to do it. Who wants to go to a gift exchange where you spend the whole time worrying that somebody is going to steal a gift you really want?

Maybe I’m biased. My first experience with elephant swap, there weren’t any restrictions on what gifts were acceptable. Long story short, someone walked away with a DVD player (this was in 2000 when they were expensive), another walked away with a barbecue tool set, I went home with a power strip. I never had anything great stolen from me, but certainly better things were almost mine than a power strip. I was so pissed off.

An Eeyore Tee shirt
two different Eeyore jackets blue and white.
flannel Eeyore pajamas
(my family runs with themes, those are from four different members by the way. also it is in the 70’s here so I can’t exactly wear any of the jackets or flannel.)
a robe
a paw print steering wheel cover
two pairs of pants
a chicken soup for the soul cup with hot chocolate and mini book.
a box of chocolates with snowman joke on cover.

I think that’s it,….
should I include the cookies and fudge? they are both homemade but everyone gets some.

This Christmas was the 2nd in a row spending it with just the new wife, due to me having to go in to work today. While I sometimes miss being home with the parents, it’s nice to have some time to our selves. No disappointment this year in the presents-as-things-to-look-forward-to department.

- 3 Concerts so far in ‘09: Less Than Jake, Fountains of Wayne, and the St. Pat’s Dropkick Murphys show.
- Champagne flutes courtesy of my brother from Crate & Barrel that were on our registry.
- The requisite lighthouse calendar from mom, along with the requisite Hess truck from Pop.
- A book of cartoons and the “Weird New York” book.
- Sudoku Cubes! Like Rubik’s cubes, but with numbers on ‘em!

The con side to not having a big family is that these lists tend to not be very long. But quality over quantity; that’s the name of the game. Plus, due to us not going to my parents’ house in Dec, there’s stuff waiting there for us when we go in January. Double Christmas! Woo!

Being a writer, books take up most of my annual Christmas list, but I either get TONS of books, or I don’t get any. This year was the latter.

I got a Black Cat Systems Geiger Counter (Yay wifey!) But the cable it comes with is a DB-9 female and my laptop has a DB-15 female port! And I just went to fucking Micro-Center this afternoon and battled the crowds! Gotta go again tomorrow! I have some green glass from the Trinity blast site I have to test…

I also got a 4 bottle sampler of the good stuff: Brandy, Rum, Bourbon, and Crown Royal. That and some “rocks glasses”. Need them to make the “Old Fashioneds” the right way with the bourbon.

Also, the best present was the booty for the kids. At 4 and 2 if they aren’t crying, we must have done something right.

And if I may, check out what my brother made for me for Christmas. He did a stop motion animation for my website! Kind of like a “Little Drummer Boy” type of present, where he didn’t give me a “thing”, but the animation is frickin’ AWESOME! If anyone knows me, it’s no surprise the video is set in The Christmas Tree Forest with Rudolph and Clarice. Click the link to check it out!

That’s because I haven’t been able to stop staring at it for long enough to thank you. Every page is filled with beautiful pictures of HER.

There isn’t even room for pictures of the food. Just lots of pictures of that head and teeth.

My name links to pictorial evidence, but here’s my haul in handy-dandy list format:

From my mom:
-The Simpsons Season 1 on DVD
-”Rubber Soul” by the Beatles
-Scrabble
-A waffle iron
-Box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates
-Girly stuff: makeup, vanilla bubble bath, lavender incense
-A pretty watch (I desperately needed a watch)
-For some reason, a Spiderman basketball hoop. I asked for toys expecting some Legos or Pokemon stuff or something, and instead I got one of those little basketball hoops you hang in your room that comes with a foam ball. It’s kinda neat. but it was a confusing gift.
-A random throw pillow
-An ill-fitting shirt that needs to be exchanged
-Money, which went toward buying…

Gifts from myself:
-Pokemon Pearl
-SingStar Legends for PS2
-Trivial Pursuit Digital Choice (my fourth Trivial Pursuit game!)

I also got pre-Christmas gifts from coworkers:
-A nice Christmassy shirt
-A set of wild orchid-scented hand soap and lotion
-A pair of slippers
-Homemade spring rolls - one of my friends at work is from the Philippines and she makes the best spring rolls ever
-One of those mug-and-cocoa mix sets
-Lots of little gifts like candy, hand sanitizer, scented candles, etc.

And from parents of students I got a nice set of coasters you can insert pictures into, and a little vanilla bath set.

I also got my mom some nice stuff: The Honeymooners on DVD, an Elvis CD, an iced tea maker (like a coffee maker but it makes pitchers of tea), a huge photo collage frame, an electric blanket, and candlemaking supplies, plus some smaller stuff like bubble bath and hair accessories.

For the animals, I bought a chew toy for each dog and a tin of Fancy Feast for each cat. I also got a laser pointer to play with the cats with, but my dachshund likes it more than they do. Dachshund + laser pointer = funniest shit ever.

All around we had a pretty nice Christmas. Spent the day laying around like bums and playing Scrabble. We’ll probably spend the rest of the week playing SingStar and Trivial Pursuit. It was just a quiet holiday for us with no visitors, but next week my BFF and her mom are coming over and we’re gonna have spaghetti and chocolate chip cookies

- Guitar Hero 3 for PC (It’s pretty fun, but argh, the lag)
- a tiny Toshiba DVD player, which would pass as portable if it had a battery compartment.
- a cell phone with case. Not quite the latest and greatest, but certainly better than my previous black-and-white one
- new Chucks in black, my old ones were worn to death.
- a photo album
- blue tinsel garland (You have NO idea how difficult it is to find that stuff in blue here)
- a cake box of CD-Rs
- a notebook handmade by my sister (the paper kind, obviously)
- money
- chocolate
- a DVD set with 9 more or less crappy horror movies. Good that I love to watch stupid horror movies.
- a concert ticket for Reel Big Fish

Spent Christmas as usual with the fam, opening presents, eating junk, and watching movies. This year it was Christmas Vacation and WALL-E. Here’s what I got:

Three colorful scarves
Convertable fingerless gloves/mittens
An aviator hat to keep my ears fashionably warm
WALL-E on DVD
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on DVD
Socks (bright blue knee socks and some Santa socks)
The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling
The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
A little daily calendar of my horoscope sign
Various colorful notepads in my stocking
A little stuffed penguin

I also got a decent sum of money, since a lot of my list was books and movies. I get an employee discount at a place what sells such things, so it was more practical that way. I’m finding myself more inclined to buy funky jewelry at the moment, though.

Unsolved Mysteries IS ON DVD?! Where the hell have I been. Great haul, Matt! Here’s mine:

DVDs -
Arrested Development: Seasons 1, 2, 3
Blank Check
The Big Green
Pee Wee’s Christmas Special
Pikachu’s Christmas Vacation
Pokemon: Adventures in the Orange Islands
Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl boxset 1
The Secret World of Alex Mack: Season 1
Degrassi: The Next Generation: Season 5

Other -
Canon 50mm f./1.4 lens
PJ pants
Vans slips ons
The Tales of Beetle the Bard book
How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman (AWESOME kitchen reference book)
shit loads of candy

Gift cards/$$ -
$170 cash
$50 Target
$10 Walmart
$15 Best Buy
$10 McDonalds
$10 Burger King
$15 Hair Cuttery (my mom things i look like a beast, apparently)
and I won $21 from lottery tickets!

I got:
The new giant Millennium Falcon
An iPod shuffle
The Battlefront 2 Clone trooper set
Leader class Animated Megatron
A delightful leg lamp tree ornament
Assorted clothes
Chocolate

My family’s been scaling back on the gifts the last couple of years (they keep saying Christmas is for the kids really, but 28 is still a kid right? Right??), but I still feel like I got a decent haul:

An air purifier for our house
A set of iHome collapsible portable speakers
A charging station for all my gadgets
A $125 in cash from various sources in which I’ve already spent it on LittleBigPlanet, a new mouse pad, a new wrist rest for my keyboard, and a flash card reader for my PC.

Those are some amazing fucking mugs. AC themed T-Shirts and mugs. I don’t drink coffee, but I would wear an AC themed T-shirt, and drench myself in coffee poured out of one of those friggin mugs.

Bought myself a fridge and stove, parents got me a ridiculously expensive dishwasher (Bosch) that I needed for my kitchen. They knew I was getting the fridge and stove, but they wanted me to match everything and get it all at the same time. I was going to get the dishwasher later myself as I could afford everything and Christmas presents in the same month.

Re-issue Sky Lynx,
Movie Leader Optimus Prime (Hate the movie designs, but that toy is actually pretty friggin awesome)
Encore Minibots
Classics Powerglide
Classics Galvatron, Sideswipe, Silverstreak, Acid Storm
Encore Omega Supreme
Animated Grimlock
2 very nice sweaters

Got about $400 from my brothers and my aunts
Painting for my living room from the folks
A bag of Doritos (I know, weird)
A Cashmere scarf

I have to re-iterate, those mugs are amazing. It’s even got Lipton with his hat!

I got a PS3 & Rock Band 2…pretty much sums up the meat and potatoes of my xmas.

Darth Galvatron - nice Transformers haul! I make it impossible for anyone to buy me Tformers. I by everything as soon as it touches the shelf. Or sooner. My Classics/Univserse 2.0 Inferno arrived today in the mail. So prettyyyyy… What do you think of all the new Transformers: ROTF movie toys?

Need to read the above loot, but I’ll give the short short list of the two best gifts this year:
Spider-Man 3 for my DS
SCTV box set vol. 1-3

Xmas was pretty darn lean this year for all around, but when you still get a first season (on NBC) of a loved comedy series, well, that just makes one want to blow up real good. In fact….

Here’s what I got(and by that I mean, here’s what my son got…from my wife, who bought it with my money):

Lego Indiana Jones for the DS
Wario Land: Shake It for the Wii
a Darth Vader tin lunchbox full of candy
Dancing Brobee
more candy
other stuff that I am less interestd in

What an exciting Christmas! Unfortunately, it was all kind of tainted when my two year old son suddenly had his first-ever seizure. Stopped breathing, face turned blue…it was the scariest experience of my life. He had snapped out of it by the time the ambulance arrived. Surprisingly, the paramedics didn’t seem too concerned about it. Said that it occured because of a sudden fever, and that it’s not too uncommon. I had never heard of such a thing.

Went to a nearby gas station to buy some kiddie-medicine for the fever, and he seems to be doing fine now. Like I said, what an exciting Christmas!

While I sound in my last post that I was incredibly upset/bitter, nothing is farther from the truth. Just saying..

I got a couple of Family Guy DVD sts that I’ll need to swap (mom wasnt surew which ones I had)she did her best though, bless her heart.

A book…like thing with titled “The D-Day Experience” which is actually sort of a WW2 popup book filled with copies of maps, letters, all sorts of stuff.

25 dollar gift card to Books-A-Millon from my sis.
Original SW’s Trilogy on DVD from another sis(I don’t know why I didnt own this forever ago for some reason. Not a huge Stars Wars fan ..but I still dig ‘em.

A ton of Dove chochlate. Tonight, my little sis..who is a culinary student and quite the cook, is making me meatballs to make up for not being able to get me anything for my birthday.

Some assorted WW2 stuff for my living history displays..the term “reenacting” bugs me.

Casual Jeff: Eek! That really sucks that your son had a seizure, especially on Christmas. Seizures are scary shit. Luckily, febrile seizures ARE pretty common and they’re usually not an indication of any underlying problem, so you probably don’t have to worry too much for the future

I got Freddy’s Nightmares - Dreams That Kill VHS, Freddy’s Nightmares - Freddy’s Tricks and Treats VHS, I also got Maniac Cop on VHS, too! I got Tourist Trap (1979) on DVD, as well as American Psycho, Wall-E, The Incredible Hulk, and The Dark Knight.

Aside from that, I got a Switchblade, the STAR TREK PEZ collector’s set, a Carhartt jacket and hat, and a brand new Casio Exilim camera!

As much as the days leading up to Christmas were pretty blah for me this year, my actual Christmas was awesome. My dad works nights during the winter and he has to go in even on his days off if he gets called, but he had Christmas Eve off and didn’t get called in, so it was nice to spend some time with him. I brought my kitty home with me, which was fun for everyone because my whole family loves him to death.

Anyway, on to the good stuff: my haul!
- A red digital camera
- A 1GB memory card for said camera
- A fleece robe and matching long-sleeve t-shirt nightgown with Christmassy kitties on them (that I will be wearing year-round)
- A cat calendar set with a wall calendar, mini wall calendar, credit-card-size calendar and a bookmark calendar
- A to-do list pad with a kitty on it (has anyone figured out that I love cats yet? Anyone?)
- $50 in cash, a $20 check and a $5 Wal-Mart gift card
- A silver sparkly snowflake necklace and matching dangly earrings
- A Hello Kitty long-sleeve shirt
- The new Jack’s Mannequin album (YAYZOMG)
- Candy, including cashew brittle that is to die for and awesome, huge flavored caramels
- A new purse that is actually big enough to hold all the junk I feel necessary to cart around every day and a matching wallet
- A sweet retro leather motorcycle jacket
- A new pair of khaki pants for work

Oh, and my best friend got me the Wrath of the Lich King expansion for WoW the day it came out, but it was for Christmas, so it counts too.

I love the fallout thread; listing out all the goodies I got always makes it seem like I got even more. Which, when you’re acting like a seven-year-old, is awesomeness.

Matt, I WANT ONE OF THOSE MUGS! YOUR SISTER SHOULD SELL THEM TO US ALL!!!!!!! And thanks so much for all the Christmassy goodies on the blog this year, too…we all appreciate you keeping this place alive for us. Much love!

Nintendo DS
Final Fantasy IV
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Wireless headphones
Clothes
A fun Steelers nightlight
Steelers comfy socks
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street DVD (!)
Other random stuff

Once again this has been a great Christmas season here at X-E. I’ve found that as I grow older, there’s less and less people I know that actually love Christmastime. I love coming here and swapping stories with other people who love the holidays. Thanks everyone!

Actually, the Advent Calendar mugs might make a nice little website souvenir. Like an X-E t-shirt, only ceramic-y-er.

Let’s see … I got about five Hawaiian shirts (which I enjoy wearing at all times). 50$ gift card for Amazon.com, a Domo-kun t-shirt, some candy, some Jones Soda (Melekilikimaka or however that’s spelled - it’s pina colada flavor). Umm, a Domo-kun wall calendar and some foreign money (which I collect). That’s about all.

YOU SHOULD MAKE AN X-E ONLINE STORE AND SELL THOSE MUGS! I WANT TO WAKE UP TO WAITERBOT!

Wow, you did get great stuff, although how much for those mugs? I will pay you for those mugs! Those mugs rock, and roll and are all kinds of win.

This was the first year when I didn’t get any video games, but I didn’t ask for any, either. I’ve got Animal Crossing (read my Animal Crossing Diary!), Smash Bros., and Mario Kart—these games should keep me entertained through August.

Matt, if you wrote a review of Wii Fit some time, it would really give me a better idea of what the game is really like. And I’d like to see more pictures of the Advent Calendar mugs!

WinTV-HVR-1600 HD TV Tuner (I’m supposed to be able to get at least some HD channels but so far I’ve only been able to view analog basic cable channels 1-99. I really hope nothing’s broken and I’m just doing something wrong)

A bunch of cheap (literally-my Aunt paid about $0.40 to $0.99 per game which is a steal. I probably wouldn’t have paid full price for these games, but at those prices I’ll play pretty much anything!) Xbox and Ps2 games and one 360 and Wii game

2 1600 Xbox Live point cards
12+1 Month Xbox Live subscription Card
2000 Wii points

Chicago Cubs 2009 Calendar (which breaks the yearly tradition of receiving a Simpsons calendar)

Computer chair (The one I’ve been using lost the rest of its padding in the middle months ago so I’ve effectively been sitting on a piece of wood with a screw in the middle since October. Oh and the back rest broke a while back too)

“Beaches” by Gideon Bosker. Surprisingly, this is the only book I got this year. Basically just a picture book with beautiful beaches, coastlines, and waves. I’m obsessed with beaches (See: the above Blu-Ray) and the only beaches I’ve ever been to have been here in dull, lifeless Illinois (which is even more lifeless now that the snow that we’ve gotten during the past two weeks is melting due to RAIN) and they aren’t exactly the sort of beaches you’d want to swim in. I can’t afford a vacation to see a REAL beach so this book and the above blu-ray disk will have to suffice for now.

Nuvi 270 GPS. This totally blew me away. I didn’t even ask for this (I don’t even own a car) but my Aunt remembered me talking about getting a GPS years ago and so she picked this up. This thing is ultra portable and has a pedestrian mode which is ultra exact (I can move from one side of my house to the other and this actually picks up the movement!)

Great hauls by everyone! My 2 year-old son got most of the gifts this year, but I still managed a Dell Mini laptop and some lotto tickets.

The best present of all was from my grandmother, who gave me and my brother each 15 GI Joes each that she had bought at a flea market about 17 years ago. They were all in mint condition and most even had weapons. Notables are original Snake Eyes, Tele-viper, and The Fridge! She probably meant to give them to us back then and lost track of them, but that brought back some awesome memories of Christmases past!

My favorite thing this year was the 4 House DVD box sets. Sure, it may be on TV 30 times in the average week…but now I can see any episode any time.

What you call an “elephant swap” we call “dirty Santa” here. I love regionalism…those things aren’t even related. Or are they?

An X-E store would seriously clean up. I would personally restructure my budget so that I’m eating saltines for dinner every night, but I’m doing so wearing a t-shirt with that Playmobil clown on it.

As for my Xmas, like I mentioned in the previous thread, Xmas Eve was pretty good. My bro and I saw The Wrestler, then ate dinner while watching A Garfield Christmas, then exchanged gifts at midnight.

I got him Metal Gear Solid 4 for the PS3 he recently bought, since the original Metal Gear Solid was always like his favorite game on PSX. He got me:

- Serenity: Those Left Behind (HC)
- Jack of Fables, Vol. 4: Americana
- Tiny Toon Adventures: Season 1, Vol. 1 (DVD)

I already watched a couple of the Tiny Toons eps. That was a seriously awesome show.

My Xmas Day was not as good. I went to this place called The Americana, which is like a big fancy shopping center, so I could see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with a free pass I had. But they didn’t accept the free pass, and all the stores around the theatre were closed… because it was Christmas. So I killed time by taking pictures of everything. The movie itself was really good though.

Oh, and a few weeks ago, me and the three roommates did a Secret Santa, where I received that new Donatello that mutates back into a real turtle, which is modeled after that exact toy from 1992. You guys remember the Mutatin’ action figures? Anyway, I display it now with my standard 2003 Donatello.

Matt, you’ve gotta review that alien dvd…what secrets could the alien be trying to impart to us? Anyhow, here’s what I got this year…
- Samsung Blu-ray player, along with Dark Knight, Silent Hill, The Shining, Kung-fu Panda and Nightmare Before Christmas Blu-rays…Yep, they look and sound every bit as good as they say they do!
- A Flip HD video camera from the in-laws…this thing is the size of an Ipod and holds 1hr of HD video! Matt, This thing would make yer video postings astonishingly simple!
-Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job Live tickets from my loving wife!
- Plastic lawn flamingos from my mom, only these are black and have glowinthedark flamingo skeletons painted on them! Oh, and she got me the McDonaldland Hamburglar figure too. Robble robble!
- Rock Band 2 for Wii! Eye of the Tiger! ‘Nuff Said!
- The Ove Glove!
- This thing for grilling corn so that the corn doesn’t fall out…Its hard to describe….
- A Lump of Coal by Lemony Snicket (it’s a Christmas book)…
- Also some gift cards, etc.
So there it is. My first EVER Fallout post!Hope everyone is having a great one! We’ve got 10 inches of snow here in Seattle and that pretty much shuts the WHOLE CITY down…so that means more time to stay at home, drink Crown Royal, and watch Christmas movies, play with the family, and not go to work! God Bless Us, Ev’ryone!

The big gift…Sony Handycam, discs, gear and carry bag. My wife and my mother went halvsies on it.

“World Phucking Champions” phillies tshirt, homemade pepperoni breads25$ amazon gift card-from my sister.

Lots of board games, twisted metal head on & smarter than a 5th grader for ps2, $100 gift card to superfresh, simpsons calendar, jeans shirts socks, $20 lottery ticket for the Jan 3rd drawing, eagles work gloves= from my Ma.

Craftsman drillbit set, new hammer, weighted jump rope,dvds of christmas movies I’m wearing out on tape, mini etch-a-sketch, cranium ‘letter line up’, and apparently I’m furry and smelly; 10 pack razors and dial shampoo/bodywash. =The wife

Encyclopedia of trees, 3 foot pepperoni stick, chocolate covered pretzels, radica deer huntin’ 3. =pop.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Kwazy Kwanzaa, Tip-top Tet, Solemn dignified Ramadan.

Dress shirts/pants
Beard trimmer
cash
gift certificate to my favorite comic book store

Well, if I can count stuff that I managed to get around Christmas:
- Zack & Wiki for the Wii
- Airplane! 1 & 2 two-pack
- Wayne’s World 1 & 2 two-pack
- Two and a Half Men 1 through 4 (got it “for the wife”)

Now, what I actually got was a DVD for an old Brazilian TV series and the Disney Edition of Scene It.

I have no idea where she had the Advent mugs made. I was crocked off my ass and all I could think to do at the time was high-five her.

anotherhandle: I’ve been a secret hot sauce aficianado for some time, but this is the first time I’m ever really experimenting and Dave’s seemed like a good place to start.

lsufan: My Wii knowledge is pitiful compared to many others here, but safe bets include Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart for sure.

Your sister probably has NO IDEA how many people think she’s awesome right now.

congrats on all your DK guidebooks. I work in a bookstore, and i can’t help but look at all those whenever a new one comes in.

I got a Ukelele for christmas, as well as a chordbook for it. My parents rule. does anyone need me to write them a theme song on the Ukelele? i only know three chrods so far, but i think i can fake it well enough to do the job.

BEST Christmas/30th birthday gift EVER: a diamond engagement ring!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!

My haul was pretty good this year. I got:
A Survivor Series t-shirt (actually got it the ppv, but it was for Christmas)
Guitar Hero 3 Wii
Wii points card
A new watch
The Dark Knight target exclusive dvd with the Batman mask shaped case
Simpsons season 11
Prince Caspian 3 disc
Zelda and Family Guy Blue Harvest t-shirts
Artoo-Potatoo (Mr. Potato Head R2-D2)
Barnes and Noble gift card
Star Wars two pack
Paula Dean double boiler
Culinary Torch and other kitchen goods
Secret World of 007
3 pieces for my Simpsons christmas train
a knife sharpener
a new griddle
PS. We call it a Yankee Swap not Elephant Swap. Interesting.

endless ocean is super! I really enjoy it….mind you its not much of a “game” more a national geographic romp. you cant die or anything but you can swim with the fishes and learn about them

Fastlane: The complete series, The Dark Knight (widescreen), Indian Jones in The Temple of Doom, Home Alone, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Original Series Season 6

Huh! I got a Wii, too. So did my sister, coincidentally. Our parents knew how to keep us from being jealous this year. Also, my Starbucks coffee sampler will be greatly enjoyed later, as will the $100 in cold, hard cash. At the risk of utter sappiness, I was also really glad to see my grandparents doing well for another Christmas.

Happy Boxing Day.
Either you guys have a lot of family or are waaaay richer than I am. I got:

Clothes Stuff
Sweaters and jackets
slippers a dress shirt a thermal

DVDs
A Muppet Christmas movie
Peanuts Deluxe Holiday collection

Aaaaaand Batman the Animated Series: The Complete Series (Very stoked)

Peripheral
A badass USB Mic for my Mac to podcast and do more silly videos with!

On a side note, I never realized how many older XE’ers there are here. I read that you guys have families and kids and still manage to enjoy cute stuff, XE and beyond. Including getting toys and movies for Xmas and all. It gives me hope that I too will not lose who I am in the process of becoming a parent and all domesticated and shit in the next couple of months. You guys rock!

Let’s see here, I got
fucking awesome 21.5″ widescreen compy monitor
500GB portable HDD
Bon Appétit: Quick, Easy and Fresh cookbook
a handmade wrought iron cookbook stand
a coffee/espresso machine
Kohl’s gift card
$100 cash
a tripod
the complete Firefly series DVD set (again, fucking awesome!)
Bombay Sapphire gift set complete with martini glass (I need to get some of that dirty martini mix)
sweater
a blanket
and the all-time WEIRDEST stocking stuffer I’ve even had the pleasure(?) of getting…a bag of raisins.

Whoa! I make a quick trip to WallyWorld and the fallout thread gets posted. Guess I’ll post my list then.
New Computer. (This was an EXTREMELY early gift)
Metal Slug 7 for NDS( I LOVE Metal Slug!)
I love the 80’s edition of Ferris Buellers Day Off.
Grandmas Boy uncut.( my momma and I love this movie)
World of Warcraft and BOTH of it’s expansions! ( bye bye outside world. lol)
Subscription card for WOW.
Tron 20th Anniversary DVD
Bunch of Godzilla flicks.
4 Walmart giftcards.
I wouldn’t DARE gripe about a haul THIS NICE!

I was raised to be grateful, and I AM! Oh, and those Advent mugs look SO COOL Matt! I would buy them without a second thought if they were sold anywhere.

1. Pair of LL. Bean Boots (the original Bean Boots with Goretex lining)
2. The NIV Archaeological Bible
3. A Kodak Digital Camera and 2GB memory card.
4. A Carnivorous Plant Terrarium Kit
5. A Playmobil pirate ship
6. A grownup style water color set
7. A camera case
8. A camera accessory kit with mini-tripod
9. A Ring Thing from Thinkgeek
10. Zombie Fluxx
11. “Welcome to the Jungle” Dresden Files Graphic Novel
12. “Backup” By Jim Butcher
13. “The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman
14. “Ernest Saves Christmas” on DVD
15. A Christmas Fizz N’ Find
16. Star Wars Galactic Christmas Heroes with Vader, Boba, and a Storm Trooper
17. A bottle of Maker’s Mark Whisky
18. A Caffeine Molecule Shirt from Thinkgeek.
19. A Christmas Etch-a-Sketch
20. A Wind-up Back-flipping Monkey!
21. “The Book of Secrets” from Thinkgeek
22. A Pizza Stone
23. A Grow Your Own Pine Tree Kit
24. Two Cacti
25. Christmas Oreos (I don’t care what the package says! They be CHRISTMAS Oreos!)
26. Candy!

I bought my son a Wii, which was very fun. I am going to use it bunches so I imagine that is my greatest present. For once in my family we stuck to the idea of only buying for the kids. I did however get a piece of candy from the parking attendant

took most of the money and got an XBOX 360 Arcade bundle!!!! woooooO!!!!!!! so cool so far. It came with sega superstar tennis and some Xboxlive games. I’m having fun with it so far.

You lucked out with your white elephant! We had one at work and I took in a drinking bird and came back with a candle.

From the fam:
Dark Knight DVD
Robot Chicken Seasons 2+3 DVDs
Christmas Toy DVD
Lego Indiana Jones - DS
Pajamas
Falling in Love perfume - 4oz
trouser socks
sleep socks
cake and pie servers
pizza cutter
Lock & Lock bowls
oven mitts
Set of serving spoons
Can opener (I asked for “moving out” supplies)
AAA
Heated blanket
$25 gift card to Michael’s
cell charger for car
Hope in a Jar moisturizer

From the fiance:
Nintendo Wii
Wii nunchuck
2 Wii controllers (Gamecube style)
Smash Bros
Return to Labyrinth vol 1 manga
Madball - Dust Brain
Family Guy Blue Harvest DVD
Pirates of the Caribbean 3 w/ game
A silver locket that (*tear*) he put both our baby pictures in

From friends & coworkers
$25 gift card for Applebees
One of those sweet nail buffer/oil/lotion sets
Ped Egg
Socks
Sword of Truth series books 4-6
A plethora of candles (2 were awesome homemade ones)
A plethora of candy/cookies
Bath salt/lotion set
Glass Christmas votive
Snowman mug
candy dish
Large silver bell doorknob hanger
$7 gift card for Panera Bread
scratch-off tickets

I think the most enjoyed gifts I gave this year were an 8-bit tie to my brother and a Mudkip to the fiance.

Ooh, and my envelope came today with my certificate in it. Woo hoo giant raise time! Still trying to figure out what awesome thing I want to do in 2009. Finally signed up to get my CPR cert next month.

I got Photoshop Elements and a wireless printer/scanner/copier! It was a small but good haul! And Endless Ocean is amazing–although I’ve never played it my husband got it for Christmas and it’s actually relaxing to sit there and watch him play it. And like you will be, he gets super excited anytime he stumbles upon a shark of ANY kind!

- Iphone (my other phone died and parents put up money for the new one)
- My Spanish coach for DS
- Lego Batman for DS
- Mariokart DS
- Guitar Hero On Tour for DS
- Guitar Hero World Tour for Wii
- Cooking Mama for Wii
- The Dark Knight dvd
- Mamma Mia DVD
- A boatload of Lush bath stuff (www.lushusa.com)
- 100 dollars

I went shopping today to spend my spoils (I got 75 in Barnes and Noble giftcards from relatives and friends), and came home to one last gift from my parents: a 26 inch hd tv! FREAKING AWESOME!

Let’s see,
I got an IPod Classic 6th generation 120 GB
Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums book
And about 40 CD’s, literally.

Nice gifts, dudes. IMNVS.
I don’t get much ever as my family is very poor but here are some worth mentioning:
Darkwing Duck for NES
Gunpey for Nintendo DS (Those two were actually gifts to the ol’ ball n’ chain but in the way that Homer bought Marge a bowling ball.)
A set of Bettie Page glasses (RIP)
Cranium, the board game.
Super Mario pajamas (which I’m currently wearing)
A Pancake themed giftset
1992’s Dracula
Some other crap.

Other cool things:
Blender
Mr. Coffee
Labelmakers (Yes, two different ones.)
And this absolutely fascinating bracelet that I can’t stop fidgeting with.

Besides that I got the usual clothes, scarf, socks, calendar, books, and a couple stuffed animals.

I wished/hoped/begged for an iMac for xmas, but it was not to be. So I’m saving my tax refund. Jealous of your macbook.

Since it’s (or will be) my New Year’s Resolution to comment more here cause I love this place, listing my haul seems like a good a place to start as any.

From friends
Sailor Moon Stars
$25 gift card to a local coffee house
Zen rock fountain
Amy Brown stationary

From family
Talking Heads Stop Making Sense CD
MST3K the Movie
MST3K 20th Anniversary Collection
HHGTTG Complete Radio Series
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Fraggle Rock the Complete Series
Fraggle Rock Soundtrack
Tin Man
Winsor McCay: the Master Collection
Winsor McCay: His Life and Art
a stuffed cat

And Matt those mugs are awesome. I probably angered my neighbors when I shrieked.

Oh forgot to mention I got a brand new edition of Monopoly with speed die. Iv’e needed a new edition of Monopoly for a LONG time, so this was a very pleasant surprise.

lsufan: I concur with Matt. Mario Kart, Smash Bros. Brawl & Mario Galaxy are the holy trinity of Wii games. Hell, I would throughly recommend to Nintendo for them to just bundle Brawl with the Wii instead of Wii Sports, because it’s that f’ing awesome. Then again, anyone who really wanted already has it by now. It’s the main reason I got a Wii in the first place.

-”Double Wonderful” by John Swartzwelder. I got his first book, “The Time Machine Did It” last year and it was simply a hilariously awesome read. “Double Wonderful” was the second novel he wrote. One day I should really get to Amazon and just order his other 3 books.

-Two Wii Points cards. One was from the parents, the other was from my best friends. He picked up my dropped hints that I needed more points for the last episode of Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People.

-Kirby Super Star Ultra for the DS. The Best Kirby Game Ever got an awesome overhaul!

-$25 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings, which was in that
unlabeled gift in my stocking that I talked about in the last thread.

-A batch of homemade cookies from my Ex-GF. We’re at that stage where we went from friends, to dating, to exes, to awkward friends, to pretty much being friends again.

The only Jones Soda I managed to pick up was Pear Tree. The Target I went to only had that one, and I regret not getting Mele Kalikimaka when I had the chance.

-Super Paper Mario, which has been owning my life
-Animal Crossing: City Folk, the other Wii game that has been owning my life.

If anyone else got it, My FC for that is: 5370 4529 0332
My town: Moralton
Name: Galileo

Holy Trinity of Wii games is Twilight Princess, Resident Evil 4, and Metroid Prime 3, norb

Difference in gaming philosophies, Norb. I am cleary in it for single-player immersive experiences.

OMG!! I SO want an advent calendar mug! Its remarkablous!And I dont even drink coffee!
Matt, I am always so jealous of your Christmas haul. I get nothing anywhere near as cool as the stuff you get.

Midnight Club LA (Xbox 360)
Call of Duty World at War (Xbox 360)
Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360) - Matt you NEED this game if you have a decent PC or a 360.
Fable 2 (360)

Pretty tame Christmas, like someone said early on most of the funds went to the children. The big gift was a AeroGarden. Going to grow tomatoes year round. Other than that about the usual, clothes, tools, money. I really enjoy seeing the variety of gifts that people are getting, thanks everyone for posting.

I was going to post about how I’m crushed, crushed I say, that the awesome NECA Ninja Turtles figures didn’t make the cut for this post

But I see my other gift, the cheapo Kong book, did warrant at least a picture, so I am comforted. Let me know if it’s any good, Matt.

I’m at California Adventure right now, waiting on a parade to start, so I’ll post my fallout from home. Enjoying reading about everybody’s haul so far!

I got absolutely nothing. All I wanted is for my January rent to be paid :(. Oh wait, does a massage count if I was obligated to have sex with the masseuse after?

Wolfman, I may be 53 but I’m still a kid inside. And one of the bonuses of parenthood is having a legitimate reason to buy and play with toys again with your kids. With my sons, I got to relive my tomboy days and play with their HeMan guys and cars and trucks and Lego sets and Star Wars stuff. When the boys were 12 & 8 and I had given up all hope of ever having a girl, my daughter was born…and I was able to indulge myself to my heart’s content in all of the girly things I never had when I was little - real Barbies instead of her cousin Francie, a real dollhouse instead of making one out of a box…you get the picture. So, yeah - Christmas with kids is fantabulously remarkablous. And I find that I really don’t much care if I get anything, just as long as I can make Christmas happen for them. They love all of the special traditions they grew up with.

I guess there’s something very comforting in being able to say, “In my family, we always…”. So when you start your family, you’ll have traditions from your family and from your spouse’s family to draw from, and come up with some of your own, too. Your kids will thank you someday.

P.S. One of my gifts from my daughter (she’s 18) is Wii points so I can play the original NES Zelda and Lolo games…I used to sit up for hours after the boys went to bed to play those. But I cheated. I used a Game Genie.

Squee! I’m glad you commented because 1) I had no idea the TMNT guys were from you and 2) the only reason they aren’t here is because I immediately put them high up on a shelf in our living room and forgot that they were a Christmas present.

My girlfriend dumped me about a week before Christmas, and I’m 22, so that means I’m an “adult” now to my extended family, so I only got cards with money from my grandma and parents.

The only good thing I got was cash from my parents that I used to buy a huge bass amp. 450 watts with a 4X10 cabinet. It’s way too loud when I have it turned to 2, so it’s fun to turn it up to 7 and make the entire house shake.

I think I might go buy myself an xbox 360 and pretend that someone in my family bought it for me. Maybe I can make myself think that Christmas is as good as it used to be that way.

I love X-Entertainment,and believe me,nothing has provided more laughs and general good times than reading about all my childhood toys and pop culture obsessions.It kind of disturbed me though in reading the blog entries here that a good number of you in the fanbase(which I’m assuming is in their early/late 20’s and just maybe 30’s),literally got ‘toys’ for Xmas.Not only that,but they were thrilled to be getting them,and gushing about them on the web post.It was alternately touching and pathetic at the same time lol.Oh well,all in good fun right? Believe me,I would love to re-create the long ago X-mas when I recieved a Shogun Warriors “Mazinga” figure,the Star Wars “Early Bird” preview kit,and a drug store knock off ‘Jedi Force’ lightsaber(in red,like Darth Vader)…

Second year in a row I made a damn good Christmas haul, a bit of a surprise given how much most of my family and friends have been complaining about empty wallets this year…

“Centennial” 1978 mini-series on DVD
Beautiful hand-embroidered cloth to cover my fresh bread
Magazines on country living and retro stories
Cute red wood signs that say “Falala” and Hohoho” and have little Christmas symbols glued around them
Three childrens’ adventure books,”Spiderweb For Two,” “The 7 Professors of the Far North” and “Flight of the Silver Turtle”
Barry Manilow “Great Songs of the Fifties” CD (Don’t laugh; I’m a big Manilow fan)

Two journals (I write in my offline journal every morning and go through them every couple of months)
Hand lotion
Lip gloss
Pastel pens
A blue digital camera (I’ll add pictures to my blog as soon as I can get my computer running more quickly)
Three WebKinz - stuffed animals that come with codes for a “virtual” pet you can dress, build rooms for, and play awesome games with. I got the Gray Squirrel, the Brown Cow, and the Cardinal. The former two are so popular, they were retired before they were even released!
“Get Smart” DVD
$25 gift card to FYE
$25 gift card to Barnes & Noble
$25 gift card to The Vermont Country Store

Beautiful black coat with a luxurious fur-trimmed hood from uncle and his girlfriend
Bunny slippers from Dad’s girlfriend
$150 from Dad
Two more WebKinz from stepsister - Otter and a second Cardinal
A third WebKinz from grown cousins - Lil’Kinz Google (white platypus-like critter)
Grand piano ornament from youngest sister, boyfriend, and nephews
“Recipe Box” with actual recipes and three lotions that smell like cookies from another sister and her boyfriend
Huge red vase and red crystal-like paperweight from brother
“Hostess apron,” fancy apron with ruffle trim from Mom and stepdad
Philadelphia Eagles football ornament from Mom (definitely not stepdad - he’s a Giants fan)
Gingerbread man ornament with dangling legs
Bread cookbook from Mom
Annual calender - this year’s has a folksy chef theme
Home-made cookies from another set of grown cousins. This one was very much appreciated. I gave all the cookies I made last week away as gifts.
$300 from Mom and stepdad

I started reading comments from the bottom up, and I thought Matt was actually squeeing about something. It…kind of weirded me out.

I got really weirded out a few months ago when X-E Matt said something about skullfucking.

It seems like that’s the kind of thought that other people have, but not X-E Matt. Maybe my perception is unrealistically pure, I don’t know. But the X-E Matt who lives in my mind does not skullfuck anything. Especially not a pumpkin, which I think was the victim in that post.

I somehow managed to get sick on christmas eve morning and well on the day after christmas, so that sucked. But I did get a good haul:

1. AppleTV - I have some many videos in random places I really needed to get them to the TV and my iTunes to the stereo. Love it so far.
2. LittleBigPlanet
3. Metal Gear Solid 4
4. Valkyria Chronicles
5. Charger thing for PS3 controllers
6. Huge wall clock

One of the worst things about being sick is I usually read the X-E advent calendar on christmas eve when I’m trying to fall asleep, totally missed it this year.

Mystie-
Is that the tie that’s all pixelated looking? Those things are awesome.
Matt-
I think WiiFit is the biggest ripoff game out there. I’ve used it for maybe two hours total since I bought it in August(?). I know Wii Music is the one everyone laughs at,but IMO WiiFit is even worse.
Also,shame on you. When you’re nWo,you’re nWo FOR LIFE!!!

I won’t list EVERYTHING I got,but things X-Eer’s (and X-Ettes!) would care about:

Pac-Man tree ornament (looks like the arcade cabinet,lights up and plays music/SFX)
Godzilla holding Mechagodzilla’s severed head ornament (MG’s eyes light up,G roars)
Megatron ornament

Donkey Kong Jenga
Sorry Sliders
Transformers (G1) monopoly
Transformers (movie) Risk

“Sound of the Smiths” which is the new Smiths greatest hits,it has some different outtakes and such.

Marvel Comics Godzilla issue 1,in pretty close to mint condition,considering how old it is.

Bklyn_Artist: I find it ironic and sad that anyone posting on this particular website considers it “pathetic” for an adult to like toys. Have you forgotten that the owner of the site is a grown man who owns multiple dollhouses for the purpose of telling stories with little plastic Playmobil dudes? Most of us are here *because* we love toys and other childhood things, and can’t find very many other places to talk about that without being called pathetic. Please don’t bring that attitude here too.

Invader Norbert&neg: My absolute fav. Wii games are Kart,Brawl,Battle Rev.(Pokemon)SM Galaxy and when I get it Animal Crossing. I technically haven’t played Animal Crossing yet, but I don’t have to to know that I love it.

Yo, yo, yo. What a perfect opportunity for a grown man to talk about his toys! Here is a list of my goodies from this year!

“Stocking Stuffers”
- Pooping Reindeer (It’s a candy dispenser with butterscotch jelly beans)
- Two packs of the Star Wars Galactic Heroes (Christmas editions)
- Oball (Christmas edition)
- Peppermint sticks, chocolate graham crackers and all kinds of neat candy/toys from chocolatepaper (awesome store, check it out http://www.chocolatepaperroanoke.com/)
- “Micro Manager” figure
- micro slinky
and a couple of other things I don’t feel like listing

“Under the tree gifts”
- 42″ Plasma TV
- Blu Ray player
- The Dark Knight on Blu Ray
- WiFi adapter for my Xbox
- Mortal Kombat vs. DC for Xbox
- MK vs. DC game guide
- Jenga (Donkey Kong edition - it’s awesome!)
- WVU (West Virginia) football “hard hat” (not sure why the logo was slapped on a helmet but it was different and unique so I’m down with it)
- Pro Wrestling books - “In the Pit with Piper” and “WWE Main Event - WWE in the 80s”
- H & C Coffee Neon sign desk replica (it lights up!) It’s a local landmark…if you’re interested you can check it here…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNAocuqlS90
- JBL iPod dock (I got it for my wife but I’ll be using this one as much as she will

- gift card
- Christmas ornament purchased from Habitat for Humanity
- Joker “The Audacity of Joke” t-shirt (everyone needs one!) http://www.redbubble.com/peopl...1953509-4-the-audacity-of-joke
- Brushed aluminum “fancy” trash can for the remodeled kitchen (my wife was absolutely thrilled…lol)
- Prince of Persia game guide (Xbox)
- West Virginia football stickers
- Rick Warren’s “A Purpose Driven Life”…great read!
- WVU Christmas ornament (another one!)
- Bunches of holiday grub made by the wifey, friends and family

Also picked up bunches of cool knick knacks all through December at various Christmas functions and parties, fun fun!

One more thing!! I own Endless Ocean and I really enjoy the game! If you are a fan of just swimming around the ocean and snapping pictures of aquatic wildlife and enjoying awesome water physics and graphics in a game then you’ll dig it. If you like shooting aquatic life and making the oceans run red with the life blood of harmless and beautiful fish you will hate the game…cause they ain’t none a-that.

Hope you enjoy my first official post after reading this site for almost 2 years now!

Love the watch and the Megatron bust (especially since they packaged it in a vintage style box). Watch out for the red label Dave’s Ultimate Insanity bottle. A little too much of that stuff and you’ll find yourself reading all your x-mas books on the crapper in very short order.

Matt, the Bret Hart book is FANTASTIC. Best wrestling biography I’ve read… even better than Mick Foley’s first book, which says a LOT.

You want toys, you go buy ‘em. Forget this giant notion of social acceptability. If we listened to the ideals of this so called “normal society” you’d be compelled to only love members of the opposite sex, enjoy mainstream music, drive Dodge Stratuses, drink Folgers, and watch Jim Carrey movies (Yes Man is good, though, not gonna front. Hey Zooey <333). Plus, I wouldn’t be able to tramp around in my pink feather boa~

Between Jennie and my folks, I got some DVDs (Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Wanted, and season 11 of The Simpsons), some books (Nature Girl and Flush [both by Carl Hiaasen] and the Late Show Book of Fun Facts), and $40 in iTunes credits. There were other things on my list I would have rather had, but I’m satisfied.

Anyone else find it odd that not that many people actually said anything about toys? A couple of the girls mentioned some plush animals,which is expected,and maybe one or two guys mentioned action figures,allthough I don’t see any when I skim the page. I’d hardly say there was any “pathetic gushing”.

King of Kong:Fistful of Quarters
Godzilla Vs. Hedorah
Justice League Unlimited Season 1.

JLAJRC-
Have you started reading that Superman book yet? I thought about buying it,but I wasn’t totally sold on it.

We had what little presents there were to be exchanged today… but I am far too tired to type it all up. I’ll try to get some pics and the list typed up tomorrow…It won’t take long ’cause there’s not much loot!

Also, Matt those mugs are beyond awesome. Now if you took a picture of yourself wearing a mug as a hat….I think the universe might implode from awesomeness.

Just when I manage to convince myself that people my age don’t actually get what they want for Christmas anymore, you all come along and blow that.

Pretty much all of my good gifts came from the hubby. He got me a great pair of boots - which shocked me. He also got me Cooking Mama for the Wii, some brain training game for the DS, a travel make-up mirror (which was actually very thoughtful because I never have anywhere to do my hair and makeup when we visit his mother), and a desk microphone stand that I’ve needed for a long time. Oh yeah, for my stocking, he bought me a box of tasty Walker’s Crisps. So thoughtful.

My father-in-law led us to believe that we were getting Wii Fit for Christmas. Instead, we got a heated towel rack. That’s definitely one of the most confusing Christmas gifts we’ve ever gotten. My personal gift from them was 80’s Trivial Pursuit, though, which I can’t wait to play.

I got the typical Grandma-type gifts from my Grandma: Lotion and socks. I got a bunch of PartyLite stuff from my sister (other women might be more excited, but I’m not a candle girl), and my parents bought me an unattractive outfit that they openly admitted was unattractive, but that they bought to be comfortable. From the sister-in-law who doesn’t miss an opportunity to brag about all the money she’s making and the expensive car she’s going to get when she gets back to the states: A $25 Target Gift Card. My grandfather gave me (via my dad) a $50 bill in an unmarked envelope. Ahhhh…warm fuzzies… Nothing from the mother-in-law yet. She’s notorious for giving me whatever cheap sale items she runs across while buying stuff for other people, so I’m not getting my hopes up. In fact, last year she bought my Christmas gift about two hours before we came into town…on New Year’s Eve. She would have gotten away with it too if it had fit and she hadn’t had to give me the receipt to return it. She makes me feel so loved and special. The worst part is that she expects me to react like she just gave me the best gift ever. But that’s another post for another time…

I remember kids in elementary school making fun of me for liking the Ninja Turtles. Kids are so eager to be adults, there’s just a long stretch of time where it’s “uncool” to like all the things you’re supposed to like. Then, when you’re in college, you can own whatever you’re into, and it’s cool again. The same TMNT shirt would probably elicit the exact opposite response.

At the mall the other day, this kid was in a video game store trying to choose between Mercenary 2 and Force Unleashed. His friend said to him, “If word gets out that you bought a Star Wars game at the age of 13, no one will want to be your friend except for me.”

Rev. BIOU 13 - the skullfucking was first referred to in the post about the owl from the Tootsie Roll Pops commercial but then the pumpkin did indeed get the business in a later post. Don’t be weirded out - embrace it in all it’s saucy skullfuckeryness.
Also, Merry Christmas to Matt and everyone, I know it’s late to leave such a comment buy I didn’t get a chance to on Christmas day. Thanks for making this such a great place to be Chrismatt.

There weren’t many Transformers that I didn’t have that I wasn’t that interested in asking for Christmas. The DVDs & games were of a higher priority this time.

I just needs to find me some Animated Sentinel Prime, Swoop & Ultra Magnus and I’m set until hasbro announces the next wave. The only Classics 2.0 ones that I’m missing is Powerglide & Onslaught, minus all of the recolors of course.

Ultraman, did you play the GC or DS versions of Animal Crossing? Because City Folk is much like them, but now there’s more stuff, the town’s bigger, there’s a city (Katrina & Crazy Redd are permanent fixtures), plus wii speak & visiting other towns is MUCH easier.

Invader Norbert: Yeah I played the one for the Gamecube. If it’s like that one, then I’ll ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

I was shocked this morning at Target when no one was there shopping! I expected a line for returns out the door!

And whoever got Bravestarr DVD’s…you my friend are one lucky bastard! I literally squealed out loud BRAVESTARR!!! when I read about it. And also the lucky SOB who got 1979 tourist trap…*shakes fist at you* lol..jk….great movie though.

Awesome haul this year, Matt. I’ve got a few of the Dave’s Insanity sauces in my hot sauce collection. They’re certainly NOT to be used as a condiment. They’re better as a chili or salsa ingredient. Which means a bottle will last years.

I used to make coffee mugs like the ones you got. The kind where a customer can send in a picture at Wal-Mart or wherever, and get it put on a mug. I’m amazed that yours turned out so well. They were a real bitch to make properly. The pictures would come out crooked or discolored if we didn’t do everything just right. I hated those things…

Oh man, you got the Bret Hart book? Awesome. I’ve heard good things about it, but he apparently comes off as a little bitter overall. Not surprising really, considering the Screwjob and the fact that his brother died in the ring

Good hauls, the lot of you. I got a pair of fuckin’ socks. And no, not socks specifically made for intercourse, just plain ol’ fuckin’ socks. Probably the most disappointing Christmas ever, but it could be a lot worse!

Brian I’m not a big fan of the live action movie designs or the movie. For several reasons. I know there are people that really enjoy them, and I’m glad. I’m just thankful there’s Animated, which in my personal opinion, represents what I would want out of a re-envisioning of the mythos and characters. Different strokes for different strokes, ya know?

However, I do regret not getting Movie Prime sooner, as he is quite fucking awesome. He just looks really cool and his transformation scheme is really well done. I also like that he has yellow eyes like the original G1 toy. He’s really hard to find now, and if you do find him, he’s kind of pricey. I still refuse to buy that abomination that is Movie Megatron.

I usually buy all my own TF’s, but I had to replace some things in my apt that I had been wanting to for a while so I decided against it. I have over 400 of them (all generations), so I figured I could miss a few for a couple of months and then get them later. (For those curious, 400 isn’t all that many. There are some collectors that would put my collection to shame). Luckily, the woman actually buys me what I want for Christmas, as my family refuses to buy me any more TF’s or video games. They say I already have too many of both or some shit. Besides, I usually buy what I want for myself anyway, so it’s cool.

Invader Norbert Yes, they re-issued Sky Lynx a few months back. He’s part of the Encore series. He’s every bit as awesome as he was when we were kids. I literally popped 90 boners simultaneously when I opened the gift wrap. I only opened the box and didn’t take him out. I plan on getting another one just to take out and display. Check out Big Bad Toy Store. I always get my stuff there, and they are an great company to order from. I’ve been ordering from them for several years without issue. I’m sure other collectors here (TF’s or otherwise) can attest to their great customer service and selection. Their prices ain’t that bad either.

For the person who asked what the mugs say at the bottom, they have the phrases that are right underneath the buttons for Home, Blog, About, etc, at the top of the page. It changes every so often.

I actually caved in and bought Rock Band 2 (the whole set) and I have to say, I really liked it. It’s one of the few games that my girl will play with me, as she’s addicted to Guitar Hero.

I also picked Mario Kart and ended playing until 4:30 AM. I had been looking for it a few months back and just gave up. Glad I was finally able to pick it up. I’ll give out my friend code as soon as I figure out how to get it of my Wii again.

Hmm..where to start? I recieved quite a few things for Christmas,which was a pleasant surprise given the fact that I only asked for one. Here goes:

*The Smashing Pumpkins-Pisces Iscariot{it’s a collection of b-sides from their first two records}*

*Cosmic Carnage for 32X{don’t hate…I pride myself of being a Genesis nut,and that includes obscure Sega CD and 32X stuff as I have both. A “definitive Genesis”,if you will}*

*a book all about so-called “Bad TV”,everything from Dark Shadows to Petticoat Junction to Mary Tyler Moore’s self-titled variety show of which both Michael Keaton and David Letterman were cast members of. It was published in ‘95,I’ll write out its proper title in a future post.*

*The Last Starfighter on VHS{ah,the beauty of having a vhs/dvd combo player…;]}*

All manner of candy,from choclate cordials to “Inside Out” Junior Mints…I couldn’t turn them down-They’re chocolate,they’re peppermint…they’re delicious! Haha…

I also got some new gloves and a new hoodie with cassette tapes all over it in pastel colors,its obnoxiousness made me beyond happy.

The best gift I recieved however,without question was a Talking Ernest P. Worrell dollstill in box…much like Matt’s Facehugger and Chestburster plushes between Ernest and my Talking Pee-wee Herman doll,I’m pretty much set.

Kingklash,those SCTV DVD’s are certainly future purchases of mine,a local 2nd-hand electronics store has them.

Jhnnywalkr,here’s to hoping your Slider Station is a success…Billy Mays can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned! The man pitches everything from adhesives to health insurance,he could pitch body organs to me and I’d buy.

From my friends I got:
Champagne (saving for new years)
Family guy desk calendar
King Cobra larger (I thought it was wine as it had a cork in the bottle!)
Hobgoblin beer and pint glass
Chocolate snowman
Jeremy Clarkson Book (british TV presenter)

From the family
An Accoustic guitar (joint birthday and christmas present that I won’t see til mid January)
A bath sponge
Some choccies
Some Richard Herring DVDs (Brilliant British stand up comedian)

I also went on a christmas shopping spree online yesterday for DVDs and got:
Police Squad complete series (the only American DVD I bought!)
The fast show complete series
The league of gentlemen complete series
Red Dwarf series 5,6,7 and 8
Peep Show series 3,4 and 5
The young ones series 2
The day today complete series
Brass eye complete series
Rock profile complete series

Not too big of a haul for me. I got a new watch from the in-laws in England, some clothing items, a few movies, and the wife got me the 2nd season of Metalocalypse and the 3rd season of Robot Chicken. All the other gifts we got were in the form of gift cards or cash. So…no complaining here about my Christmas.

ok, it was basically what every little boy should get. I keep my inner child alive in Christmas & Birthdays.

-New He-Man Collector line Action Figure
-Tomax & Xamot new GI joe line Action Figure 2 pac
-White Ranger re-release (already got the green one,
Tommy is the best

)
-Booster Gold DC Direct Action Figure in all his cheezy glory, with skeets
-the wrong, new version of the Blue Beetle, which I assure my girlfriend is alright. Doah! I will have Ted Kord, now I have Michael.
-Joker, a very dark, very hardcover, very cool “realistic” DC story graphic novel. So good but oh so very dark.
-Arkham Asylum something-ith aniversary version, graphic novel, one of my favourites. And as such, I already have the old one, but again, assure my girlfriend it is ok. :) I have an old copy I can make a gift of to someone I want to have read it
-new classic style DC direct Two-Face, he is my favourite villian
-new Killing Joke DC direct Joker, with all the Barbra Gordon paralizying awesomeness.
-PHotoalbum with photos reprinted with film long since belived lost. Photos are from girlfriend & I’s first real christmas together, that got water damaged and ruined, and we lost the film. Broke my heart, but she found the roll quite by accident this year evidentally and BOO-YAH, our history is back! Very touching.
-Ferris Bueller’s Day Off dvd, Classic!
-Dark Crystal dvd, Classic!
-Sister got me an adress book filled with family members info, as it was my job, for wedding comming in April 25th, to accrue all that, and I have been…not doing that. So that was terribly helpful, and a witty gift. Witty, is that right?
-got the requisite clothes from parents, which I actually appreiciate as I’m an adult now and Hate spending money on clothes. Socks, Boxers, Nice Button up shirt, really nice “Dress” t-shirt, if you know what I mean.
-From my 7 year old nephew, I got a great lego set. The like, second from bottome smallest (so actually a pretty good size) new Knight Set, but this one has 2 like orcs, with a DWARF! Fantastic. Hehe, I actually wanted this too, but he just guessed, as he’s seen my small lego collection, of monsters, so… Still, this kid cracks me up/tears me up, as in cry

-oh, funky “White Elephant” type gift my parents like to give out to everyone everyear. Sorry matt, I like your idea better, I’ll suggest it. But they just do this for everyone basically as a “main present”. Oh well, I got this bizzare lite up…motiony…gyro magnet …thingy. Whatever, it’ll look cool on new years when my and my people are lit up watching “The Last Dragon.”

by the by ,every year it is becomming …like 6 years or more running, tradition to watch some of the best awefullest guilty just plain fun things on new years we can think of. It’s mostly my purveyance, but others help as well.

First year it was “Remo Williams: the adventure Begins” and never continues, as we like to add.
Second it was a 5 hour marathon of Pee Wee’s Play House, wich coincedentally our host got for christmas that year.
Third year it was “Buckaroo Banzai, Accross the Eight Dimesnion” followed by “Big Trouble In little China”
Fourth year it was…Oh yeah, “Lost Skeleton of Cadavra” and “Santa Clause Conques the Martians” hosted on tv by our semi-local Horror Movie Host, Svengoolie, on tape. Look up Lost Skeleton.
Fifth year it was games…It was ok, but I missed the schtick. Troma Dance was on in the background, but it got swiched to that randomizer visual thing when you play music on your compy when we turned on music instead.

Anyway, that was a nice Christmas, I didnt get any money in cards from anyone this year, but then the economy is bad, ect, and I dont mind. I’m just happy if they were having a merry christmas. Still have my girlfriends mom’s gift to get, when we find the time to get there, maybe tomorrow. I’m holding out for Red Sonja, as she got me, like 5 or six years ago, the collected (2) Conan movies, and I’ve been waiting for this from her every year. I cant buy it now, it has to come from her

‘Two And A Half Men’ season 2 DVD
‘The Simpsons’ season 11 DVD
‘Roseanne’ season 8 DVD
‘Roseanne’ season 9 DVD
‘Family Guy’ volume 6 DVD
‘Hancock’ DVD
‘Death Race’ DVD
‘The Dark Knight’ DVD
‘Iron Man’ DVD
‘The Notebook’ DVD
‘Borat’ DVD
‘Raging Bull’ DVD
‘Wanted’ DVD
‘The Incredible Hulk’ DVD
Toronto Maple Leafs snack bowl
Toronto Maple Leafs stoplight (coolest gift ever)
Toronto Maple Leafs sports gloves
Toronto Maple Leafs Tomas Kaberle jigsaw puzzle
Toronto Maple Leafs ‘08/’09 Yearbook
Toronto Maple Leafs pajamas
Toronto Maple Leafs boxer shorts
Toronto Maple Leafs fleece pants
Toronto Maple Leafs beer mug
Toronto Maple Leafs tumbler cup
Toronto Maple Leafs dog tag
Toronto Maple Leafs alarm clock
Toronto Maple Leafs Christmas stocking
popcorn maker
$60 in gift cards for the movie theater
$15 Subway gift card
king size fleece blanket
Air Wick gift set
T-shirt which reads, “I’m Sorry, you looked better from far away”
loads of chocolate!

My haul this year was so stellar that I’m about to actually break my X-Entertainment Blog Comment Virginity to talk about it.

Out of nowhere, my parents got me a piano keyboard. A huge, 62-key, MIDI-compatible Yamaha. All because they knew I saw a crappy fifteen-dollar one in a junk store back in October and that I was sad when it turned out to be broken. It was a complete surprise.

That should by all logic be the absolute highlight, but no. This year the piano has to share the spotlight with an ORIGINAL PIECE OF ART BY AARON ALEXOVICH. MY FAVORITE CARTOONIST. I got it in the post this morning from my friend K, and my heart-rate still is not back to normal.

The complete Johnathan Creek DVD set
Who Killed Amanda Palmer CD
Hellboy: Strange Places graphic novel
Victor, another graphic novel in Spanish. I have to learn Spanish now as well as the piano.
Slipper boots, slipper socks with reindeer, angora socks.
Pants with cows, bananas, and polar bears on them.
Two stripy tops.
Pyjamas with cows on. My whole family seems to have decided I’m two sizes larger than I actually am, but hey, they’re comfy.
A new notebook.
Illustration Now hardcover.
A Nightmare Before Xmas pillow.

And of course, a lot of chocolate! Including my favorite white-chocolate-chilli-lime-pickle-mango strips. So good.

Well, I’m an Ortodox Christian, so we celebrate Christmas on January the 6th, though we exchange our gifts on the New Year’s Eve.

Don’t know what I’m getting this year, though I’m afraid that with every Transformers: Animated toy I buy I’m making it harder for the wife to pick up a present for me…
What I do know is that I’ll be getting 3 Transformers from her, as well as “something manly”, as she put it - I’m afraid I won’t like that last gift :D.
What she’ll be getting from me - a Grumpy Care Bear plush toy, a pillow, the latest book by Julian Barnes, some Winnie the Pooh stickers, candy and a few of the movies she likes and I can’t stand on DVD (Sex & the City and the like).
For our son: Iron Kid mask and Iron Fist toy to go with it (don’t ask; it’s a lame CGI cartoon series but he loves it), a TMNT Mini Mutants playset, Transformers: Animated sticker book and some Naruto themed stuff.
That’s all.

I have to confess, it wasn’t the most cheerful Christmases for me. It wasn’t BAD, not by a long shot, but my Grandmother passed away last year and it seemed very empty without her; without her, it was just spent with my parents. But hey, we don’t need to bring the mood down (sorry folks)…. onto the loot!!

I guess the size of the haul depends on the size of family. As mine is a parents-over fare, it was a medium year, but I did score one large thing that I wasn’t bargaining for. In fact, I’m writing this on it - a laptop!
I’ve never really ‘had’ a lapo before; I did for a while have an ancient thing from my father’s ex-work, but it kept overheating, and a while ago, it got knocked down the stairs(!). I was nowhere near it at the time!
This new sucka has got some serious power - almost the same as my ‘main desktop’ machine, which I seriously upgraded last Summer. I wonder if it’ll run GTA4 (which has been causing countless problems for PC users; my main machine refuses to run it)

Other than that, it was mostly little things. I’m not much of a games player (bar above GTA mention), and DVDs I want, I’ll chose myself, so I can get the best version (different regions have different features, etc.)

I got an ice cream maker, so I can… err… make my own ice cream! Which should be cool (no pun intended).
The only score on the DVD front was from my Godfather, who gave me a box set of the first four ‘Batman’ movies (when I say “new”, I mean 1989 onwards).

Other than that, most of my fun came from racing my radio controlled General Lee (Dukes of Hazzard) car, which I bought for myself. Yes, I know, very sad!! (And even worse, it’s packaging and sound effects are of the TERRIBLE 2005 movie version).

The post-Christmas blues are already hitting hard this year. All that preperation, and it’s suddenly over. Next few days, its my father’s birthday, my birthday, and a cold grey Winter ahead).

I had a great Christmas this year, one of the best in a long time. My awesome girlfriend bought me:

Spyderco Delica customized by Santa Fe Stoneworks
Red Alox Victorinox Pioneer
A bunch of H.P. Lovecraft books
A few books on homebrewing
G.I. Joe Snake Eyes action figure. My favorite character.
Transformers Universe Silverstreak figure
Lego Creature Creators set
Lego Racers Set
Dark Knight on DVD
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlines DVD
Wicked City DVD
Dress Shirts for my upcoming cruise
Coffe cup and t-shirt from my old college.
Burt’s Bees multi-pack. Mainly because I have a black hole in my pocket that just sucks up lip balm apparently.

Oh, I should just add, Simpsons slippers. Althogh I grew up with ‘The Simpsons’, and still love them, I’m more of a ‘Family Guy’ person lately.
But hey, Simpsons slippers are good - especially when your dog chewed up your old pair!!

I didn’t get much. It’s been a hard year:
-a shirt
-rebel scout speeder legos
-$200
-$50 Amazon gift card
-a small globe
-some candy

Excuse the THIRD post, but just want to add - adidaskorn3000, I have the new He-Man and Beast Man ‘classics’ figures as well. Didn’t get them for Christmas but they arrived not long before it.

They are AWESOME, kind of like the originals (nice and chunky, bright colours) and the 200x versions (much more detail, but without the muted colours and thinner proportions).
I also have MOC Keldor too (well actually, I have every figure).

Cash.
A year membership to a geopolitical intelligence firm.
See’s Candy.
Pistol and rifle targets (in a stocking, coolest presentation ever).
A nice tie, which I love, but it’s depressing that I’ve gotten to the age where I get a tie for Christmas.
A 10-day paintball field pass.
An iPod speaker dock.

Matt-
That Call of Cthulhu DVD is entertaining if not totally fulfilling. Having said that, I rewound the “eaten by an acute angle” part about seven times.

KFR42- I live in the middle of the US and Red Dwarf is one of the greatest friggin’ shows out there!

Darth Galvatron-
When you start playing the game,the first screen has you pick which “liscense” you want to use. The number on the liscensee is your friend code for Mario Kart. Then prepare to join myself and Goob in getting OWNED by Ultraman.

KFR21-
I’ve seen all the Young Ones episodes a hundred times. They used to air it in the U.S. late night.

Merry aftermath, everyone. Enjoy the Unsolved Mysteries, Matt. Nothing says Happy 2009 like Robert Stack’s melodious intonations about the enigmatic world of paranormal phenomena. At least not in my experience.

This year, I got a DS- awesome since I’ve wanted one forever but everytime I went to get one a car payment or something else popped up. Also got 20 bucks, a game for the DS, a stocking full of pez and chocolate, a plastic chinese beckoning cat figurine that is battery powered to wave its paw for eternity, a picture frame, a stuffed bear in a cow suit from Japan, and a mysterious family game set that showed up in my garage without any tags or wrapping on Christmas Day. That’s a little creepy, so I’m holding off on opening the thing until I’m sure there are no explosives. Hope everyone’s Christmas was suitably merry, and that everyone’s new year is suitably drunken.

The only gift that mattered to me?….. The new GNR album Chinese Democracy. Not worth the 14 year wait but pretty fucking kick ass all the same.

I knew Red Dwarf was fairly big in the US, but I didn’t know about the young ones. I’m sure plenty of this stuff gets shown late at night or on obscure cable channels like a lot of US sitcoms are in the UK.

I’ll have the whole set of red dwarf then, which is important as the spines make the red dwarf logo which virtually forces you to buy them all once you’ve bought 1.

Rayban Wayfarers
Starwars Galactic Heros Stocking Stuffers
Left 4 Dead (360)
Prince of Persia (360)
Wall-e (DVD)
TCM the next generation? one with Matthew Mcananahanaahey
Some much needed clothes, shoes, and a sweet new jacket that looks like a pea coat, but is made out of sweat shirt material

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year X-E, maybe this upcoming year I’ll have more time to hang around and check in on some SNT’s.

spooky-
‘Gymkata’ would be a KILLER followup to ‘The Last Dragon’. An Olympic gymnast taking on tons of mid-1980s movie baddies—They even “conveniently” have a pommel horse in the middle of the village…

lets see…for Channukah, I got:
A 2009 New Yorker Cartoon desk calendar,
A new iPod (I lost my other one at the Macy’s Parade. at least this one has video),
Marvel Chronicles: A Year By Year History (a big Marvel Comics book about the publication’s history),
DC Comics Enyclopedia Updated and Expanded,
A regular Rubik’s Cube,
A Monty Python’s Flying Circus Complete DVD Set (awesome),
A bunch of T-Shirts,
and I bought myself a G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary H.I.S.S. Tank and a Destro action figure.

Ol’ Saint made out great this year - two coats - a new duster coat and a wool zip up hoodie, a rather nice digital camera, Animal Crossing for Wii (gotta wait to get back to The City to play it, didn’t bring my Wii upstate), a WoW Shaman class t-shirt from Jinx, and a 2 gig RAM upgrade for my iMac are the highlights - also got some smaller things like a few jar candles, a new pair of sleep pants and a new practice jersey.

‘coz nobody buys toys for a 28 yrs old girl (like me), family prefer to give me money and I can buy the things I want by myself.

I don’t need clothes. I hate buying clother and I hate receiving clothes for Xmas. My sister is a clothaddict and in early december she was renewing her err… clothes stock. She gave an entire huge mountain of clothes. She also made me to save a lot of money ‘coz I needed office clothes. Now what I need are shoes. (I prefer to buy them, I hate them as Xmas or birthday gifts, I also hate make up. I NEVER use make up and I hate it with all my evil soul)

I still dreaming about that Necronomicon book I saw at bookstore three months ago…

My boyfriend gave some lego figurines he had since he was a child. I had to repaint the faces because they’re older than me (he he he). They are real relics! Memories from past… aaaawww!!!

I’m going to ask him for another Lego astronaut. I want another dammed Lego astronaut!!

Ah! I forgot:
I buy to myself some tiny Batman action figures from the last movie: Joker and Batman. The bad thing: the came with no accesories.

My list of presents includes:
Almost all wii stuff: super mario galaxy, mario kart for the wii with an extra wheel, wii play, wii music, animal crossing city folk, zelda twilight princess, and mario party 8. my mom got me the requisite clothing items: a few sweaters, a nightmare before christmas hoodie, and socks(yes, i actually requested socks). from my husband of two months I got a mary kay microdermabrasion set, and a SIGNED!!!!copy of invisible monsters by chuck palahniuk. this christmas, although my presents were fairly awesome, just seemed off. no one was really in the christmas spirit, it was sunny and almost 60 degrees outside(which seems to be getting more and more commonplace in northeastern ohio), and I was just depressed as hell for the whole day. My dad got a new LCD tv and I bought this huge remote that we were going to plant in the box and act like it was the only one that came with it. Now, I held up my end of the deal and planted the huge remote in the box, but when it came time for my husband and my sisters fiancee to stash the other remote, they did a pitiful job and my dad found it within minutes. CURSE THEM!(well….not really) the best part of that though is that my dad really wanted to use the huge remote (this thing is about a foot long, 6 inches wide, and an inch thick…it is simply massive). Christmas just lost its sparkle for me this year…

Psst…Matt…those lamps are African, not tiki. I still think they look really cool. And you don’t have to tell anyone that doesn’t notice….

A New Orleans Hornets shooting shirt
A Tyson Chandler blue jersey
A Batman Money Clip
Oz and Curb your Enthusiasm dvds
Force Unleashed for PSP
Tommy Hilfiger cologne
Dwight from the office bobblehead

I agree with Leigha. Christmas just isn’t the same as it use to. I find myself more depressed then anything seeing everyone enjoy themselves while I don’t. I’ll I really did it spend it with my parents and sister, no one else even wished me a Merry Christmas. It reminds me of the Charlie Brown quote, “Nobody sent me a Christmas card today. I almost wish there weren’t a holiday season. I know nobody likes me. Why do we have to have a holiday season to emphasize it.”

This year, from my Secret Santa in my immediate family I recieved the following:

A pink Nintendo DS
A pink Vidal Sasoon styling blow dryer
Various cosmetics and styling products
A Cancer class (the astrological sign, that is)
A tic-tac-toe drinking game
A TON of candy and junk food

A knitting bag she made just for me
A needle roll for my knitting needles and supplies
Knitting needles
Scissors
Pattern books
A small Red Cross pattern booklet that had belonged to my great-grandmother (which I will cherish for the rest of my life)

To me, this was a good haul. It beats out the baby pink MP3 player from last year :p

A Sonic Youth vinyl and a robotic bird from my girlfriend, a chair and 50 dollars from the parents, a normal robot and snobby French jeans that I adore from my brother, two tickets to an 80s tribute night at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood (Depeche Mode, The Cure, and Duran Duran tribute groups) from my sister, and a box of chocolates and an ugly ass man purse from the office.

Hey, Matt, (and everyone reading):
Nice haul as usual and enjoyed reading about it. By the way, that Friday the 13th the series DVD? I worked on the cover via my job thank you very much, so enjoy the retouch work and cool photos we provided for the cover art.

As for what I got, from family: obligatory clothes including Peanuts pajama pants, sweaters, etc. Bedsheets, slipper socks which I LOVE and wear around constantly, a keychain, a Mets 2009 calendar so I can glare at the players who sucked last year when they do shitty this year, an electric blanket, a Starbucks gift card, female stuff like body lotions, etc.

From my boyfriend I got a digital photo album, and a $250 gift certificate to Telecharge.com so we can pick out a play to go see together finally. From his family I got earrings, perfume/body wash set, a Ken Follet book from Oprah’s book club, a hat and scarf set, etc.

One of my good buddies sent me gourmet caramel popcorn via the mail, and I’m seeing another friend this week who has a gift for me…can’t complain at all.

Biggest news about the holiday tho, my sister got engaged!!! I am now on maid of honor duty over the next year and a half as we plan this thing.

Well here we are, another Fallout thread. My haul this year is pretty small compared to some of yours. My parents lost their jobs a few weeks ago so money for gifts is pretty sparse. I wasn’t expecting to get anything. I’ll explain why I was able to get things at the end of the post. I’m also going to try and take pics later but figured I’d go ahead and post my stuff…

From my little sister (from my fraternity, not biological) who is now in New Hampshire: A book about the history of a local railroad. I’m a train buff so this was awesome. She also got me some Caramel chews and a box of green tea.

From some friends that I spent Christmas Day with: One of those auto life hammers (you know, with a razor blade to cut the seat belt and a hammer to break the window). This one also has a flashlight and a digital tire gauge. I didn’t expect to get anything at all from them so I was pleasantly surprised.

From my Godmother: A popcorn tin (a small one), assorted candy, and a $50 HEB giftcard (that’s a grocery store for those not in Texas)

From my Parents:
-The Nightmare Before Christmas Special Ed. DVD (YES!!)
-The Dr. Horrible DVD
-WALL•E 3-disc DVD
-A little Build-your-own Stonehenge kit that looks like it will be great fun at the office.
-The Tales of Beedle the Bard Book (Harry Potter if you don’t know)
-365 Stupidest Things Ever Said Calendar (It’s a yearly tradition that my mom gets me a calendar)
-A little “Santa’s Express” train that my mom got at CVS for a buck.
-Superman boxer shorts (from my Dad..it’s kind of an inside joke thing..)
-An Illustrated Companion to Edgar Allen Poe. This one is pretty awesome. It’s a biography of Poe, but every 10 pages or so there is a little envelope that contains reproductions of things like letters that Poe wrote, or a marriage bond, etc.
-CHRONO TRIGGER FOR THE DS! HELL YEAH!!! I have been wanting this for a long time….never got to play the original because I wasn’t into RPGs at the time, and the original SNES version goes for $texas on Ebay.

I also got a $100 check from my Aunt and Uncle that will probably have to go towards getting my car fixed.

(long story and don’t want to get into it now…)

So how were my parents able to buy all that? Well, my Aunt does web consulting work, and my Dad’s previous employee used them. Last year, she gave all her clients Amazon gift cards as a show of appreciation. Well, Dad had never used his. So my Aunt reactivated it. And then she looked at the list and found that a bunch of other clients had never used theirs, either. So she transfered those to my Dad. Pretty awesome, huh? I’m just glad my parents didn’t spend a bunch of money on me that I know they didn’t have…

So there’s the fallout from this year. Not much but I like what I got and it’s not the material things that matter anyway….Hope everyone had a great Christmas…

Hey all — sorry for the AC delay, I’ve been milking post-holiday exhaustion. (Or reading books.)

Michael: I have a longstanding tradition of referring to any neat wooden/granite/whatever statue that focuses on facial features as “Tiki.” I can’t help myself.

Melissa Y: Really? Small world — actually, it’s a terrific cover and it definitely helped sell me on the idea of wanting the set!

I got a pullover, dark knight and iron man dvds, a peppermill, a $200.00 gift card to lowes, a $50.00 to macy’s, two ties, a saute pan, and fallout

I’m still waiting for at least 2 more gifts. A G.I. Joe Vamp with driver. It says his name is Double Clutch, a
true G.I. Joe fan knows that it’s Clutch.

I got clothes, two lip balm
sets, two robes, a faulty
portable xm radio that I
replaced with a regular
portable radio, oil
diffuser, gift cards,
Now 29, and The Clique.

- bike rack
- $75
- $20 Barnes & Noble gift card (which I used to get Batman: Long Halloween)
- $50 Kohl’s gift card
- Hotel LaChappele art book (been lusting over this for YEARS)
- Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends seasons 1 & 2 (YAYAYAYAY didImentionYAY?)
- The Complete Poems and Stories of Edgar Allen Poe
- The Joker graphic novel

The Good:
The Dark Knight 2 Disk
Crystal Skull 2 Disk
Zodiac Unmasked by Bobby Graysmith
The Icon Christmas book - Christmas ads and cards through the ages.
A moleskin notebook
The Onion’s Our Dumb World
Forty bucks

The Bad:
A shirt covered with pretend patches that say things like “Joe’s Garage”, “Mel’s Diner”, “Festival of Rock N Roll” and “Old Time Shirt Co”
A plain button up shirt one size too small
A pair of knickerbockers, two sizes too small
Ladies flip flops (I’m a guy)

The Ugly:
Everything bad came with a receipt so I could return them, cept the outlet is on the other side of town and I ride a bike.

Turtle food pellets
Turtle vitamins
Turtle hot rock
Archer Farms Carmel Popcorn Tube
$15 bucks Subway Giftcard
$40 BP gascard
$200 Best Buy Giftcard
some other crap

oooh kewl - i just found a pair of 3D glasses from a box of fruity pebbles. Im gonna go look at some 3d stuff.

I’m celebrating Xmas in cocoa beach, Florida. Visited the space center today and am now watching JP2 The Lost World on sci-fi. Dinosaurs and rockets rule.
Heres my haul: $400 cash, $60 in gift cards for DVDs or books, Its Always Sunny in Phila ssn 1&2,Wall•E DVD, The Pixar Touch book, Simpsons Ride swag, lots of chocolate, much needed warm clothes for my return to Philly and mystery ups packages waiting at home.

The t-rex is about to attack the trailer! I love this scene. Have a happy new year Matt and all!

You could stop playing, like I did after unlocking all the characters and playing each of my friends once

If you don’t enjoy online gaming, then you should just stop playin games altogether. Online gamimng is BEYOND fun!
Mystie: Try it online.

Matt, I didn’t foprget about you pal. I sent you an email to get my PayPal address checked but I’ll wing it. It’s nice to get a gift in January anyway. January sucks.

I got grown up gifts. Shirts and socks and shit. No books and I’m a little sad about that. We spent Christmas in NYC. Makes me miss my mountain home. Even though we got another few feet of snow again.

Gaming affords joy for people who both enjoy multiplayer and singleplayer endeavors.

Don’t mistake my cheekiness as an excuse to say things that are clearly incorrect, baby~

Neg: Eventually gaming is going to be all about the online multiplayer experience. Thinking otherwise is just denial

Then I will phase myself out of gaming. I read the GameInformer review of Left4Dead and they were like blahblahblah multiplayer. There’s a single player option, but don’t worry about that.

Neg: Aww come on don’t leave. Have you ever tried online gaming? The VAST majority of the people who play games online with other people in this world find it to be AMAZINGLY FUN!!! Playing against another human being anywhere in the world, completely , utterly, and totally blows any in game A.I out of the water! Try it if you haven’t, before you make any rash decisions.

Well the issue with XI is getting parties together. You’d wait hours in the dunes to get one going and either it’d go awesome (1% of the time) or I’d end up fleeing (Thief abilities, w00t) because everyone else in my party got pwned.

Also, the story was practically non-existant. I’m in gaming for the story. I mean, Xenosaga is one of my favorite series and it’s more an interactive movie than a set of games. Almost all of my favorite series are more story based, save Zelda (though as far as I’ve been in Twilight Princess, they seem to have rectified that in an unconventional, yet effective way).

Neg: I think you need to find the right game to enjoy online. Don’t let a few bad experiences turn to off to online gaming as a whole. A game you can take online, and immediately have a bunch of opponents waiting for you is what I think you’d like . Also a game that doesn’t require a lot of time to master would be good for you too. Just search around. Try different titles and I’m sure you’ll find somethin you like.

Back in my day, we had the XBand and if you wanted to play globally, you’d have to pay a long-distance phone rate. I worked up a hell of a phone bill one month playing Mario Kart. Boy was my mom piiisssseeddd…

Wow, someone who actually used an XBand. I hope you videotaped footage, Mystie…

screw you guys, I’m going home….I got a jacket for christmas. And some English Leather in stocking.

- The Muppet Show: seasons 1-3
- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory DVD (the original version!)
- Muse: Absolution CD
- Guitar Hero 2
- Firefly on DVD
- Brita filters (yay being a grown up?)
- 4 cup coffee maker (huzzah!! Instant human! Just add coffee!)
- a stuffed fox that looks stoned out of it mind. (I collect them. Foxes that is, not stoned stuffed animals)
- a beer-a- day desk calendar
- Guitar chord and scale decks
- Tales of the Beetle Bard

I got my cousin a jar of moonshine in a mason jar while he got me a tiny ninja launcher. I love my family sometimes.

Secret Santa from my old job got me Kill Bill and co-worker from my new job got me an IOU for a bottle of booze, to be redeemed after the new year. The know me too well.

My fiancee got it for me, mint in box. It was so bloody awesome. I’ve wanted one ever since I was little.

- The MASK GI Joe figure
- King of the Hill Season 1
- That 70s Show Season 2
- Japanese fountain pens
- Assorted notebooks
- Pocket flask
- “Grown up” stuff like boxers, cologne, man accessories, and handkerchiefs
- A cashmere scarf
- A fog free mirror so I can finally shave in the shower
- One of those RC Mario Karts

Is this the same sister who prevented you from purchasing Wingnut and Scumbug? Cuz if so, she has yet to finish repaying THAT debt.

It was a pretty lean christmas here in Hateville; but with some cool gifts (in some random order):

*A4 Wacom Intuos3 drawing tablet (special edition with airbrush - wooooo, this thing is *huge*)
*Dark Knight/Batman Begins Blu-Ray set (cool, except I already have Batman Begins - oh well - dark knight is still pretty sweet)
*Butthole Surfers CD (except I already had this one, doh! But it is a good album which I can now listen to it in stereo or something :))
*Tim and Eric’s Great Show Good Job DVD
*Vodka Truffles
*Arkham Asylum graphic novel
*Penn and Teller Bullsh!t series one
*Crispin Glover Album (who doesn’t love Clowny Clown Clown? - I am now a convert to Crispianity)
*Money
*Doom DVD (oh well, not every present is going to be good…)

So not the best haul, but some cool things in there. I’m wondering what to spend my xmas money on; I probably should just use it for clothes or music, or maybe a new monitor. But part of me wants to put it towards yet-another-synth (Access Virus) that’s on eBay… Decisions decisions…

Mystie-
Are you using the nunchuck? Because I usually just hold the remote like an NES control,I think it’s a lot easier.
And holy shit,x-band.

Kid Nicky: I haven’t started reading it yet. My bros got it for me for my birthday. You would think an unemployed guy like me would have PLENTY of time to read and watch all of my unread books or DVD’s. But nope. I currently have four books that I bought and I haven’t read yet, along with a whole stack of DVD’s.

Anyway, I went to a couple of bookstores on Friday when they were having their sales and bought a ice cream cookbook (since I got my mom an ice cream maker for Christmas) along with the following cheap DVD’s:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls
The first Indiana Jones boxed set
The complete 1940s Batman seriels
Wrestlemania 24
The latest Shawn Michaels DVD collection
Pan’s Labriynth 2 Disc
Alien Director’s Cut.

That’s just what I bought yesterday. I got DVD’s in my collection that are months old I haven’t even opened yet.

Suncoast just happened to be going out of business so everything was 50 percent off, only thing left was horror movies so it was perfect.

Got the Friday the 13th box set (first 8 movies)
Jason Goes To Hell
Nightmare on Elm Street-Infinifilm edition
Dawn Of the Dead
The Ring
Monster Squad (”Wolfman’s got nards!”)

Also received:
The Dark Knight on blu ray
Two classic wii controllers & mario kart 64 for wii
212 Sexy Men cologne

A ton of old movies that I had on VHS and not DVD was the big haul from the parents, along with a volume of Ducktales (two down, one to go!) and Harvest Moon for the Wii. My husband out did himself this year, getting me a couple of great board games (Ticket to Ride and Carcassone) as well as a couple of DS games (Rune Factory 2 and Sonic Chronicles) and the coolest…an OCARINA! I can’t wait to learn how to play Zelda songs with the songbook he got me to go with them.

I got him the huge Vulcan Nerf gun with the tripod, along with a ton of Zombie-related stuff, so I’d say we both had a good Christmas.

I got money, pants, socks, boxers, and an alarm clock/cd player. I also got the usual stocking stuffers which included the annual hot wheels car my dad gives to me and my two bros. Overall its been a good holiday but i kinda fell off my health kick i was on for a month. I will always make an excuse to eat heartily during the holidays but i broke my no smoking promise when i was sharing cocktails with my friends. I had a 3 week streak of nonsmoking going which may not sound like much to those who don’t smoke but i was very proud of myself. I guess its time to start a new streak. I also haven’t been riding my recumbent bike the past couple of days which i had been doing almost everyday this month. I am trying to lose some weight and get in shape. I also managed to cut caffeine out of my daily routine which is hard when I have to be up at 4 AM sometimes to get ready to work in a COFFEESHOP! lol I also have cut a significant amount of sugar outta my diet which has led to my new found love for Sprite Zero. Gone also is all “junk food” and pretty much anything fried. Hopefully by this time next year i’ll be a lean, mean nonsmoking machine. Wish me luck!
P.S. Its good to see you all again!

I’m totally the person who bought you Endless Ocean, so I guess I don’t really need to say this, but: it’s motherfucking awesome, and literally unlike ANY GAME I’ve ever played.

I hope you do an article on it just so it’ll get more attention from gaming nerds than it currently gets - it’s great.

I skimmed through most of the posts, a lot of you got some good gifts!

As others, I am a mom so Christmas isn’t focused on me but I like what I got…

A purse made out of coca cola cans
2 nice fancy scarves
Super Mario Bros. 3 the complete series
My Pet Monster the complete series
money, to be used for fun not bills (so far we bought a dvd/vcr player for our room. We are also going to rent a room that looks over Niagara Falls b/c it’s cheap for residents in the winter)
slippers, needed very badly

I think I’m getting some more stuff later, next time I see my SIL and BIL at the same time, I’m sure it will be more DVD’s b/c I’m dying to have more!

I got some other cool things too, but that’s the highlight. I’m really excited to use the rest of the money to play tourist here in the Falls.

I was a total bum today. I admit it. Can’t believe how fast this year has gone by! I REALLY hope the next one takes a long while to pass. Lookin forward to new years. Tryin to think up a resolution.

Oh, new years resolutions. I don’t know if I’m going to have one this year, I know I’ll break it within a week anyway. If I make one and break it, I re-resolution for after my birthday, which isn’t till February, but I count it as not far into the year.

- A DISHWASHER from ma and pa
- Weezer red album
- The Killers Day and Age
- LOST season 4
- The Office season 4
- Stephen King ‘Just After Sunset’
- Firefly ‘Browncoat’ T-shirt
- necklace
- Wall-E on dvd
- Hell’s Kitchen Season 1
- pajamas, sweaters, socks
- coffee maker

- and BEST gift ever…
an ORIGINAL NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM STILL IN THE PACKAGING! Plus, Super Mario 1, Dr.Mario AND Double Dragon! I love my little brother.

MATT - ‘Hitman’ is an incredible read, as is the Stanton Friedman book. I met him at a book signing and he is remakable.

I bought COD: WAW for the Wii, which is pretty fun, especially considering I don’t really like FPS’s. I downloaded Punch-Out and Super Mario World from the VC both of which are extremely fun. I rented SMG, but I’m not that far into it I’ll give it more play this week since I’m off work for another two weeks. Mario Kart will be a definite buy for me, maybe as soon as tomorrow. Anyone here download Mario Kart 64? Does it stay true to the system? What other games should I look into getting?

Okay maybe not the last one unless you’re a fanboy like me. Look up in this thread for actual Wii games I recommend

Not a Zelda fan. The old Metroid games are definitely on the docket, as I loved the first one that came out for the GBA, at least until I got stuck on the water level. Simon’s quest…is that a Castlevania game?

- A pen that looks like a hypodermic needle. I like things that look like other things.

- A box shaped like a big die. Like I said. I like things that look like other things. Mom got it free at her office party and figured I’d like it. I do indeed.

- An American Girl doll. Apparently my mother thinks I am still five. Eh, who am I kidding? She’s right. I also got a half dozen AG books. (And I got her a life-sized Travelocity gnome. I have no idea what this says about what I think of her. But she realllly loves it.)

- A Chip ‘n Dale sugar bowl thingy. I’m not actually sure what it is, but C&D merch is so rare to find that I’m thrilled to death over it.

- The Day the Earth Stood Still two-disc special edition. I suspect this was so I would stop frothing at the mouth whenever someone mentioned the remake.

- A Rave Master “Griff” squishy toy. I have no idea what the hell Rave Master is, or what this Griff thing is either, but it’s pretty damn cool anyway. (My mom basically bought out the “damaged and really cheap” shelf at Forbidden Planet, only to have the bag stolen while we were packing up our car. Griff was the sole survivor. I hope someone somewhere had a merry freaking Christmas with OUR PRESENTS. Bastards.)

- Two pairs of socks because apparently some people think it’s sad that I wear socks that are more hole than sock. They still work, don’t they? But these are nice ones, so I’m not complaining.

- “The Complete Pokemon Pocket Guide.” From my mother, who admitted to having no clue if I liked Pokemon. I do. I definitely do.

- A clippy flashlight keychain thingy. I already have one, but this one’s much cooler.

- The Avenging Unicorn action set. BEST THING EVER. I love my friend Matt. I guess guys named Matt just know what’s awesome.

- Buckeyes made by a friend of mine. They arrived in one huge melted-together mass of chocolate and peanut butter. I ate it as it was. And you know, it was damn good.

K, I have not read the whole article and have not read your responses but I thought I better get my list up before people stop reading. First I must say I’m sad that I was away from internet the first couple days this was up because I love the fall out as much as the calendar. now on to me
We just moved into our first house and it’s a bit of a fixer upper so we got lots of gift cards to home depot and lots of gift cards to Lowes totaling around $300 hence you will not be seeing any big ticket items this christmas.
From the wife I got a series of Steven Seagal movies including: Out for justice, under siege,Glimmer Man, above the law and fire down below (I’ve been in a Steven mood this year)
I also got the Dark Knight in the Target exclusive batman mask disc holder.
The Dean Martin Matt Helm dvd box set.
Budweiser vintage glass and ice bucket set.
Vintage metal Coke sign for my basement.
Books I got Without Remorse, State of Fear, and a book that’s name escapes me but it’s about famous left handed people.
Clue sudoku
Exercise Mats since we now have nothing but hardwood floors.
A comfy shirt.
New head phones
Uno and playing cards and the promise of a wii game since she could not find any that I had asked for.
From the rest of the family I got Barnes and Noble gift cards, an ottoman that holds video games and controllers, 20 Questions sports and music, a new colts hat, a new wine gift set and more gift cards.

For the Wife I got her 3 frank Lloyd Wright books, frank Lloyd Wright coasters, various makeup items, perfume, bath stuff, various things from fred flare.com including a popart camera and vintage Betty crocker recipe cards.
I think that is the majority of it. I may write more after reading other people’s booty.

I got a pretty good haul this year, extremely good if you consider I have been bad this year, seriously. No toys tho so a little disapointed

Deep Sea Fishing Voucher
Soft Seve Icecream maker
Sandwich Press
Blender
Expensive Aftershave
Spiderman 3 Aftershave (amells like Bacardi, and burns)
Encyclopdea of True Crime
Sea Monkeys

My Sister got TiVo so that has been taking up most of my post christmas time.
My Dad works at an Army Muesum so we have paid for the whole family to go to Melbourne (we live in Perth Australia) to watch him drive a Tank around an Obstical Course in a few weeks, can’t wait. Also bought tickets to take Mum to see wicked.

- From Family -
Left 4 Dead on 360
Fallout 3 on 360
Far Cry 2 on 360
Blue Dragon on 360
Animal Crossing:Lets go to the city! on Wii
Family Guy Season’s 6 & 7 on DVD
Ninja Turtles:Next Mutation Season 1 Vol 1 (Fuck Yes! Venus is the best!)
Lion, Witch and Wardrobe animated on DVD (Really old..)
3 pack of old cartoons on dvd (Heathcliff, M.A.S.K and something else..)
Batman The Animated Series Vol 1 & 2 on DVD (The GOOD one)
Beetlejuice on DVD
30 Days of Night on DVD
Wall-E on Blu-Ray
Corpse Bride on Blu-Ray
Batman:Gotham Knight on Blu-Ray
Ghost in the Shell SAC 1st GIG on DVD
BB & Paintball Gun
Alien Invaders Rotating Target Game
Nike Mp3 Armband & Shower Wash
Some Code Lyoko Figures
Wall-E Cube ‘N Stack Figure
Ninja Gaiden Sigma on PS3
Dead Space on PS3
About £30 from Relatives
Guitar Hero Air Jammer With 2 Addon Cartridges

There’s probably some other stuff, but I can’t remember at the moment..
Definitely gonna’ but the last vol of Next Mutation off Amazon soon.
Why did they cancel that?! It’s almost like the films!!

The Advent Calendar mugs are unbelievable! I want one! My family does the “Elephant Swap” thing every year, too. I ended up with a bunch of blank CDs and empty CD sleeves along with some car-washing gear. Weird twist of irony, right after I get the car-cleaning stuff, I get into my first auto accident.

Let’s see…the Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection, “The Dark Knight” 2-Disc, a copy of “The Dark Knight Returns,” an iPod dock/alarm clock, and countless T-shirts and flannel pants. (For some reason, everyone bought me a different AC/DC T-shirt.) I also got the coveted Pac-Man keepsake ornament, but may have to get it replaced because the batteries won’t stay in. There’s a bit more, but I can’t list all. Hope everyone had an equally interesting spread.

I also got a Best Buy gift card. Matt forgive me for asking, when is the calendar going to be updated? I
have been wanting to see 23 for some time. If I
offended you, I’m so sorry.

IHAQ, when the hell did “My Pet Monster” get a DVD release??? This is even cooler than when I discovered the old “Teddy Ruxpin” cartoon was released on DVD!

I guess I’m a little late to the blog this year. I’ve been getting over a cold. Nothing sucks more than being sick on Christmas. You guys all got some great gifts. Repeating what everyone else here has said, those mugs rock!

DVDs
The Simpsons seasons 9 and 10
The Dark Knight
National Geographic Inside the Special Forces

Godiva Chocolate bars
new purse
misc. Christmas ornaments
the ubiquitous can of popcorn
and the ever popular money.

Awesome haul Matt! Glad to see everyone’s Christmas was great. Here were my gifts:

- Batman Beyond 3-D Ceramic Plate
- Batman Beyond vs Mr. Freeze Lamp (I’m a big BB fan and this has alluded me for almost 3 years.)
- Target Exclusive Bumblebee action figure
- Dark Knight DVD
- Hellboy II DVD
- Lois and Clark Season 2 DVD
- Freakazoid Season 1 DVD
- All-Star Superman Volume 1
- Black Costume Spider-Man Mighty Mugg
- A couple of US Army shirts
- Space Ghost ornament
- Kool Aid mixing kit
- Ben Roethlisberger ornament
- The Christmas Sweater (Hardcover book - awesome read!)
- A mini-deep fryer
- Two stand up lamps for the front room

I also wound up with a few gift cards and am seriously debating picking up Gears of War with one of them. I’m sure I’m missing a few things but those were the items I can recall off hand.

for all that are wondering my friend codes are as follows:
mario kart- 0130-6083-5833
animal crossing-2836-4377-7315

My pride and joy: Guitar Hero World Tour for the Wii with two guitars: the Gh guitar and the Les Paul! Finally something I can shove in my wife’s face when she wails on me in Wii Bowling. That is until she starts schooling me on Beat It on expert setting. And I got some cartoony Wii golf game so my brother and I can play online.
Also got some much needed DVDs: Pushing Daisies season 1, Lost season 4, and The Dark Knight.
Oh and because I can’t dress myself, I got some shirts and ties.

KFR42: I am jealous of your Hobgoblin beer and glass. One of my favorites, just discovered its greatness this year. Why haven’t I been smart enough to ask my family for alcoholic presents?

Good Lord, I made out like a spoiled little brat. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I had my baby 6 weeks early and my father passed 4 days after that. She is still in the hospital, so I suppose everyone felt bad for me. Here is SOME of my loot:

From my honey:
2 bath kits filled with all sorts of gels, lotions, salts
The whole Rock Band set for the Wii
A bracelet with our daughter’s name on it he made himself
Kung Fu Panda
Scrapbooking essentials
Animal Crossing: City Folk
Renewal to Horrorhound magazine
A digital picture frame
An Ipod touch
An engagement ring and wedding band set!!!!!!!!!!! He proposed by making an ornament that said Marry Me and sticking it on the tree
Plus he’s letting me preorder all the deluxe Friday the 13th DVDs coming out, the special edition of My Bloody Valentine, His Name Was Jason documentary, Saw V, and Dead Rising and House of the Dead:Overkill

From my mom:
A GPS system
The 12″ Jason from The New Blood (This thing is AWESOME!)
Dexter Season 2
Dark Knight
Some clothes and a new bathrobe
TONS of stuff from Bath and Body Works
Rayman TV Party
Rock Band 2
Drum Pad Silencers and rubber drumsticks (we live in a paper thin apartment)
Perfect Shot for the Wii
Shrek 3
Third Rock from the Sun Season 3
A girl charm with my daughter’s birthstone

I also got some cash and some Wii points from a gift exchange. My most touching gift of law was from my soon to be sister-in-law: She gave me a brooch with an angel that had my father’s birthstone in it (October, which happens to be my birthstone and my daughter’s as well)

Sorry to double post but I would love to have Animal Crossing City Folk friends! My friend code is 3910-1235-3914

Whitebacon-
MK64 on Wii Virtual Console is fine,but I wouldn’t bother buying it. You’re never really going to play it once you have MK Wii. The Wii version even has some of the same tracks.

I got Rosetta Stone for Mandarin Chinese Lvl.1, new 400 thread-count bed sheets, and the flu + sinus infection.

Hooray for worst Christmas ever! I’m not referring to my gifts, and in fact they were the best part considering I didn’t ask for anything this year. I had absolutely the worst Christmas experience in my life this year, I gave a full report in the previous thread if anyone is really interested.

I am actually excited about the Rosetta Stone (Where I work everyone speaks Chinese and I am the token white guy). This should be fun - as soon as my head stops throbbing with plague.

I gots me:
-a Pandora silver charm bracelet with a Christmas tree charm
-$300 to buy new fixtures for my bathroom
-a Swiss Army laptop bag
-$40 in WalMart gift cards to accessories for said new bathroom
-really expensive new headphones(as I kill a pair once every six months)
-Burn Notice Season 1 on DVD

A Caribbean Cruise! (Family vacation. We go every February right after my birthday.)
A Nintendo DS! (I actually got this earlier this month as I had a total meltdown a little while back. I effin’ hate the holidays as it usually means everyone fighting in my family combined with the stress of closing out the year at work … and since I work on Wall Street it’s been an extraordinarily tough year. My sister gave it to me after I nearly busted a beer bottle over her head for not turning on the Office fast enough.)
To go with it:
-Carry case, car charger, cases for the games, screen protectors, a charging dock, and screen wipes
-And the games for it: Diner Dash, Sonic Rush, Spore Creatures, Cake Mania, Animal Crossing and Final Fantasy IV. (Which takes me back to my summers in college when I’d spend all weekend sitting in an unairconditioned room, chain smoking Camel Lights, drinking Harp Lager and sprinting through FFVII and FFVIII in between shifts at the factory. Good times.)

I didn’t ask for much this year, but I did get the Family Guy Freakin’ Sweet Party Pack, the Godfather DVD boxset and a beautiful sapphire/diamond necklace and sapphire/diamond ring from my amazing husband.

PS, I just ate a Russel Stover’s marshmallow Santa that was so damn sweet my back tooth hurts.

Now that I’m a dad, 99% of the effort and finances went into making a great Christmas for my daughter, so I didn’t have much of a haul this year. My daughter made out like a bandit, though, so it’s all good. What I did get:

- A pair of Doc Martin’s
- Itunes gift card (Essential - I would have thrown a fit if I didn’t get one of these)
- Broncos stocking cap
- Dark Knight DVD
- Assorted clothes (t-shirts, jeans, socks, hoodie)
- Blues Images 2009 calendar (a calendar made up of ads from the 1920s for blues records, and comes with a CD of rare blues tunes)
- Gift card for a home brew supply store

Strangest gift of the year (there’s always at least one): My mom gave me a Louis L’Amour book. When I unwrapped it, she started giggling, noting that hate Louis L’Amour books. Huh? I still don’t really get the joke…

I haven’t been home to see my family yet, and I exchange gifts with my friends tonight, so most of my Christmas loot hasn’t been revealed yet, but so far I got:

- The Premium Format FvsJ Jason Voorhees
- All of the 2008 Star Wars Hallmark ornaments
- “A Christmas Story” leg lamp/crate talking Hallmark ornament (which would’ve been much cooler if it featured the actual dialogue of Darren McGavin and Melinda Dillon)
- Boba (Spuda) Fett Mr. Potato Head
- Stitch as Yoda, and Stitch as Emperor Palaptine action figures from Disney World
- A $25 gift card for Barnes & Noble
- Kazdan Paratus Star Wars miniature
- All 40 of the Clone Wars miniatures, plus the starter set and Target exclusive Scenario pack (my gifts to myself since I don’t have a girlfriend to buy gifts for for the first time in 9 years)
- $14.00 cash from the lamest Secret Santa ever!

I tried to write out my Hauliday, but I can’t do anything without editorializing (and my family is complex as it is), so it ended up being a whole other article - in the comments section - by someone who doesn’t even run the site.

So anyway, decent overall but scaled back from previous years, which suited me just fine.

The lamest Christmas of them all. I don’t know what my parents were thinking. I mean, I could have went to the dollar store to come up with better stuff.

-A breast-cancer t-shirt
-a box of ‘80 candy
-2 boxes of condoms (???)
-brut cologne
-pajamas.
-organic lipbalm
-2 international calling cards
-peppermint bark

That’s the squickiest thing since my grandmother told me and my husband to go home one snowy night and “make love”.

I feel my gorge rising just thinking about those words coming forth from her pruney, whiskery lips. BLECH.

Matt: Yes, for real indeed. I actually hated the choice the client chose for the front cover, but all the shots of the actors and episodic stuff is from my job. We also did the other seasons so stay tuned for those…

Tina: What kind of XM radio did you buy that was faulty? I’m a XM subscriber/fan and I’ve been through about 3 or 4 quirky radios now. But they still rule.

Sorry to hear about your daughter, Ash. She will be in my prayers, as will you and your honey.

Not as creepy as finding a year’s supply of your mother-in-law’s birth control pills on the kitchen counter.

I don’t. But my grandmother called me at work one day to tell me why people get those. Girls in particular get them for a specific reason which my grandmother knows all about. She screamed into my ear about it, for almost 10 minutes, using a certain phrase over and over again. My younger cousin got her tongue pierced, and granny is sure that she is now doing a certain thing.

I won’t tell you the the thing that my grandmother knows my cousin is now doing, because I don’t want you thinking about my grandmother when you’re either giving or receiving the thing my grandmother screamed about to me. I guarantee you it will affect your experience and not for the better.

My grandmother should not know about this thing. I need to take her television away. I’m pretty sure this practice wasn’t invented 100 years ago when it would have been relevant to my old grandmother.

my animal crossing town is Nazareth and my character is “Leigha” although it was my husband who figured out how to do the friend codes, so it might be under “JJ” at this point.

oh, my friend code for AC is now 0044-7105-5905 Town=Nazareth Human=Leigha. the friend code given before is for my husband’s character. you will have to forgive me, because im still new to this.

I just got a belated additional gift: Jim Henson’s “The Christmas Toy” on DVD. This was my favorite Christmas movie growing up, and now it is MINE.

I have been trying to figure out what movie I’m remembering with a tiger for years.

Jeremy Whatsisface, I had no idea that My Pet Monster was released. Nor did I know the entire show only had 16 or so episodes. This explains why I remember every episode so well. Still I love it! Go forth and look for it my friend.

Rev: Yep, that’s the one! The little stuffed tiger who thinks he’s supposed to be the Christmas toy even though he was last year. It took me years to remember what movie this was too, I didn’t figure it out till somebody mentioned it here last year.

EGGNOGGY- Seems like your parents are tryin to hook you up.
-A breast-cancer t-shirt (shows the ladies you’re caring and conscientious)
-a box of ‘80 candy (some candy to woo the ladies)
-2 boxes of condoms (check for holes, they may want grandchildren)
-brut cologne (so you’ll be smelling like a REAL man)
-pajamas. (so you’re comfy after the deed)
-organic lipbalm (smoochable lips)
-2 international calling cards (mail-order bride?)
-peppermint bark (minty-fresh breath)

I’m assuming you’re a dude. I don’t know what to make of the list if you’re a girl.

Squickiest? That is the greatest made up word since Matt Matt/James Lipton invented “remarkabulous.”

First off, Rev, I have my tongue pierced and had it done when I was just a barely old enough to sign for it. At the time, my little innocent self did not know about using the piercing for the thing you speak of. I did it solely to piss off my parents. Perhaps your cousin did the same. Of course, it is years and years later and I still have it, but I have a fiancé, so I think it is okay.

Now, onto my Christmas fallout:
New ink (technically got it in October, but it was a Christmas present nonetheless). Click my name for a pic, if you want.

MacBook something or another. Please forgive me since I’m new to the Apple experience, so I don’t know it’s specs yet. Still, I’m loving it.

Le Cruset dutch oven. This was a complete surprise, and a very happy one at that!

And a Zelda promotional disc for the GameCube that has the original Zelda, Zelda II, Ocarina of Time, and Majora’s Mask! Pure awesomeness!

Please don’t get me wrong! I am strongly in favor of doing the forbidden thing, with or without a thing in your thing. It is a natural and beautiful part of life which is also filthy and ugly and you should only do it with someone you love.

Also, I am getting new X-Mas ink too! On January 16th, I have an appointment to get some work done on my already sort of enormous piece of artwork. I’ve got five hours worth of hurt coming to me in this session. A+++ I am hardcore.

Oooooh it’s been a while. Matt, those mugs KICK ASS. But yeah you already stated that, and all… I just can’t really make out what it says on them, though, and I’m dying to know!

What’d I get? Well, the family Christmas was pretty toned down this year, since money sucks.

- Jack Johnson’s “Sleep Through the Static” CD
- Wanted DVD
- a Japanese Western DVD I wanted and cannot ever remember the name of.
- Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian DVD
- Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling
- Hello Kitty DS game
- Hello Kitty coloring book
- $50 gift card for Target
- $30 from my Grandma
- random bathroom type products (shampoo, bodywash, etc.)

So, Matt, now that Christmas is over, how about putting the Halloween Jukebox back up?

Rev Yes, grandmothers should speak only of cookies and milk, and warm sweaters. Well, occasionally my grandmother talks about kung-fu while imitating the motions, which is pretty cool. :-)

As for the ink, pics please when it is done. I love seeing a decently inked-up chick! If only I had the funds and the creativity (I draw my own stuff) to have more tats done.

At the rate I’m going, I’ll never be done. My tattoo artist is my hero, I let her draw on me freehand. Click my name for the current status. Warning: naked back! No butt or anything though.

Wow some of you get so much stuff it’s insane. glad to hear everyone had a good Christmas…well those of you whose parents did not get them condoms anyway. I’m having a bit of a post christmas depression right now. It was barley affecting me before we went to Target then when I got to the Christmas clearance stuff that now was an after thought after being such a big display last week I started feeling it.

Seeing people pick the meat off the bones of Christmas’s carcass got to me. I think part of it is we were out of down the 26-28 and all the warm fuzzy post Christmas fun was spent dealing with family. So I’m going to try and finish things off right by finish reading a Christmas Carol, drinking southern Comfort eggnog with southern comfort in it..(ok maybe I took a shot of it already) while listening to Christmas music infront of the Christmas tree. Since there is no snow out and it’s like 60 I doubt it’s going to have the same effect but it’s the thought that counts.
I have a feeling this is turning into southern comfort on an empty stomach rambling but for next year if your looking for a new Christmas special collection try amazon and get The Christmas Collection. It’s 13 hours of stuff. One disc is tv show Christmas which the Jack Benny shows are with the price alone. The Disc of Christmas Cartoons has jack frost and tons more. My wife was excited as it had many a childhood favorite. The other disc is tv movie specials. Not everything is great but for about 10 bucks you can do a lot worse. I’ll end there. Charles Dickens is calling.

OH MATT!!! Please finish updating this we want to know what else you got. I was looking through previous years and saw you never got around to the “more later”.

Rev I had my tongue pierced when I was 17. I kept it for 6 years, long enough to be a mom with a tongue piercing. I didn’t get it for giving sexual pleasure, my reason was b/c I didn’t drink, do drugs or smoke, so I thought I would rebel in a different way. It didn’t bother my mom, but it bothered my MIL when she met me, so I really would like to get it done again, I just don’t want to go thru the pain.

Rev That is spectacular and sexy! Your dragon would eat my dragon for a snack. I also enjoy that you seem to be as pale as I. We are the perfect canvas for artwork! I am now inspiried to work on a new design.

In case there are any gripes about what you gave someone for Xmas, you can send them that song from H*R’s “Hooked On Decemberween” page about sending bad presents.

Click on this link to watch “Howard the Duck” on Hulu. I remember watching this frequently when I was a kid and liking it.

1. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective/Ace Ventura: Pet Detective: The Animated Series (Bonus Disc)
Peter Griffin plushy
The Best of The Colbert Report

23. Akon - Freedom
Beyonce - I Am… Sasha Fierce
Kanye West - 808’s and Heartbreak

28. George Bush talking figure (one of our White Elephants. We have two every year. One themed and one not themed)

I think there should be a permanent thread for Wii codes. Just so the regular ones don’t get cluttered up with them. Plus it would just be easier. I CAN’T WAIT to get Animal Crossing :City Folk. Also for those of you who just got Mario Kart Wii, register my code(in this thread) for that game and let me know and I’ll add yours too. Leigha iv’e already got your Kart code.

Norbert and anyone else that got AC city folk over christmas…my code is 0259-3729-7671 name tootsy town frogtown I added you norbert

I got a ton of Happy Bunny stuff, and the cutesy Playmobil Advent Calender featured last year. Now I have my own Cher!

I just saw that jerk, Chris Jericho. Did anyone see his hair? It looks like he’s using that “stuff” Mary
(Cameron Diaz) thought was hairgel in There’s Something
About Mary.

Cartoon Network will be showing old Warner Brothers cartoons this week, all right! Even if it’s just
for New Year’s Day, it’s gonna be great.

Rev-Holy shit that is an awesome tattoo,but I think it needs an X-E logo somewhere.

I just got Wario Land Shake It today,and I wholeheartedly reccomend it. It’s how I wanted games to be when I was a weeun-it’s a 2d platformer with handdrawn graphics,basically it looks like you’re playing an anime. It’s not like “graphics” at all. There’s multiple paths and ramps and launchers and such in each level,I guess you could say it combines the best parts of Mario type levels with the best parts of Sonic type levels.

Has anyone here ever played the board game “Transformers Risk”? I don’t understand when or why you turn your robots into vehicles. Still a really fun board game though.

I’m a little insulted the they didn’t impersonate me. Usually trolls love to impersonate me. oh well.
Kid Nicky: That Wario game does look fun. I might ask for it for my birthday. It’s coming up soon.

So does Matt have to get through all the books before we get AC and more christmas updates or just the aquatic books? I’m surprised there are not more trolls around here since there is not a log in.

cool facehugger and friday tv set igot the gremlins figure boxset and pee wee’s playhouse vol.2 and lots more!

cool face hugger! the best gift i got was a tie beetween the massive 18 inch edward siscorhands figure and the gremlins figure boxset. ialso got cool wii games and dvd’s

- The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection DVD set
- Ghostbusters 1 & 2 double DVD set
- The Legacy of Eddy Guerrero DVD set
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall on DVD
- Homer Simpson pajama pants
- Candy Cane Mint Creme Oreos

- A cubic zirconia bracelet
- Some beauty products
- A hair dryer (I didn’t have one!)
- A necklace

But, I also got 200 dollars, so I bought some clothes and a digital camera, so I’d say I did good this year. I just…I really miss the experience of opening something and it being a surprise. My in-laws freaking told me what my presents were before I opened them, so I don’t know why they even bothered to wrap them. >_<

Rev., that’s going to be a bitchin’ piece when you finally get done with it. I got my first tattoo Veterans Day weekend, a peacock whose feathers form celtic knotting. Already looking towards my next one, either a celtic cross or an eagle.

I’ve gotta say, I’m feeling the Christmas Letdown already this year. Although, there’s still the Advent finale to look forward to

Glad to hear you were happy with the Turtles, Matt. I had drooled over them at Comic-Con so I knew of their awesomeness and was jazzed to get them for somebody that would appreciate it

And speaking of awesome, I really made out good this year! I posted some pictures, but here are the highlights:

Mom took me to the Coach counter at Macy’s and pretty much went nuts. I got a couple of pairs of sneakers and picked out a big bag with hot purple leather accents…when I opened everything on Christmas she surprised me with another bag to match a pair of the shoes. I can totally front like I’m chic now.

My best friend got me a bunch of cool stuff from my huge and unwieldy Amazon list. Got my two most wanted presents, Tales of Beedle the Bard and the Cute Overload desk calendar, along with a matching set of guacamole/salsa bowls shaped like a giant avocado and hot pepper (SO awesome) and the Watchmen graphic novel, which I have already finished and am probably going to start rereading immediately ad infinitum until the movies comes out and I can pick it apart

Eh, didn’t feel like Christmas for some reason. But all the buildup and hype, well I ate that up. Lights, and candy canes, and trees, and music. Oh yah.

I got:
120 GB XBOX 360 Hard Drive
Mario Kart Shirt & Pajama Pants (Makes me wish I still had my Wii….)
$100
2 Cases of Mountain Holler (My favorite soda)
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Hoodie
Super Mario 3 Hoodie (White and completely BAD ASS.)
Psycho Cop on DVD (The best bad movie)
TMNT Shirt & Pajama Pants
ACDC Track Pack for Rock Band 2
A box of Fortune Cookies (BEST)
Random candy and such.

I made out decent. It was ok. I think I just feel weird because I didn’t get a single toy for Christmas for the first time in my 22 year long life. So I used that $100 and treated myself to the Shawn Michaels/Bret Hart WWE Screwjob 2-Pack of figures, and some other clothes.

Mandy, Norbert and Leigha…I have added all of you to AC: City Folk friend list. Let me repeat my stats again: 3910-1235-3914 is my friend code, Cadeau is my town name and Ash is my character

It did not occur to me that I might inadvertently out myself as a rampant statue humper by posting my photobucket link.

There’s a pizza chef statue somewhere on Mulberry Street I think, outside a restaurant. It will be my crowning achievement if I ever get to do the nasty on him.

I have half-naked pics of Pete Wentz in my Photobucket. Got the link to full-disclosure too, if anyone wants it.

$50 gift card for Gamestop which I used on Bioshock, Gears of War, The Orange Box (w/ Half Life & Portal) and the last $5 I put towards buying the Metal Slug Anthology on Wii.

And some Halloween decor to go with my already way too bloated Halloween decor collection for my small apartment.

I was the hero though this Christmas because I spent a ton on everyone. In fact I spent too much and I felt like Monty Brewster after he spent the $30 million in Brewster’s Millions. I don’t want to shop for a long time now.

I got my Mom a really nice desktop PC, my sister a laptop, my brother a new Raiders jacket and Guitar Hero III w/ guitar and GH: Aerosmith, my son a Nintendo DS and a Mac Computer just like the one in his school, my girlfriend a Wii and the R2 D2 Robot and her nephew/niece an Xbox 360 Arcade which I also upgraded with a hard drive.

Wow — so… a car wrecked into the electricity pole outside a couple weeks ago and it took that long to get Internet up and running again, so I missed X-mas on X-E

We went a little more low-key for the holidays this year, as the husband has just started on the road to med school, and our household income went down by more than half. But I still got some cool stuff –

He got me the 4-disc version of “Blade Runner” that’s been out for a while but I hadn’t picked up yet and a “Twilight”-inspired locket that’s not so overly “Twilight” that I’ll feel weird wearing it. Also, he got a friend of ours to copy me his 80s mega CDs — it’s a collection of about 20 discs full of all the great cheesy pop music from the 1980s, which is an awesome gift for me.

My parents always get us a lot of neat and random things. They got me some decorating items (which I had asked for), and one of the fancy-pants Christmas ornaments I collect as well as stuff like giant froggie houseshoes and such. We picked up a set of our china and some china storage cases and some gift cards to restaurants we like. The husband got a drill and some bits. I know I’m missing stuff …

My sister framed a quilting square for me made out of fabrics from dresses and things my grandmother has made for me over the years as well as material donated from each grandmother. It’s a wonderful sentimental gift. She also picked us up some DVDs and such.

We also got cash, which we’re thinking of converting into a Wii — we’ve wanted one forever, but things keep popping up and robbing our Wii fund. Since the husband won his fantasy football league, and we got a couple hundred in cash for Christmas gifts, we might just spring for one, finally.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!! Now I’ll be catching up on the advent calendar!

Renigirl: Spring for a Wii! Even if it’s not yur fav system, you STILL wont regret gettin one. I PROMISE!

Rev., thanks for ruining that thing which shall not be named for me. Ah, who am I kidding? That can’t be ruined.

When I read that Debs got ink for Christmas and included a pic, I thought, “What, like printer ink?” Then I clicked…and I facepalmed myself. I am teh dumb sometimes.

IHAQ, I don’t drink, smoke, or do drugs, either, but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna get pierced or inked, especially after watching my wife get her first ink. Besides, drinking, smoking, drugs, piercing, and ink are so common now, I’M the real rebel.

JLAJRC, why in the world are you encouraging people to watch that movie??? The only thing that movie has going for it is a very hot Lea Thompson.

My new year’s resolutions:
1. Have Angelina Jolie adopt me.
2. Throw shoes at a world leader.
3. Get some of that sweet federal bailout money.

Games:
Sonic Unleashed (360)
Banjo-Kazooie : Nuts & Bolts (360)
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain Of Memories (PS2)
Mario Super Sluggers (Wii)
Wario Land : Shake It! (Wii)
Spongebob Squarepants Featuring Nicktoons : Globs Of Doom (Wii)
Kirby Super Star Ultra (DS)
Pokemon Ranger : Shadows Of Almia (DS)
Drawn To Life : Spongebob Squarepants Edition (DS)
Mega Man Anniversary Collection (PS2)
Mega Man X Collection (PS2)

DVDs
Sonic X : The New World Saga
Sonic X : Chaos Emerald Chaos
Sonic X : Chaos & Shadow Sagas
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Original Series Volume 3
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Original Series Volume 4
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Original Series Volume 5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Original Series Volume 6

Misc.
Two Mario Figurines (Yoshi & Bullet Bill)
Remote Controlled Mario Kart Racers (Mario, DK, & Yoshi)
New Headphones (Which rock, by the way)
A Blank Video Tape
A Sonic X Wallscroll
A Sonic X Toothbrush
$20
A Couple Of Walmart Gift Cards
And A PS3 For The Whole Family

Teddy Ray You make me laugh! I think that next time I ink myself up, talk about it online, and post pics, it will be of an ink cartridge.

WOW! I think EVERYONE had a greaat haul this year. Let me tell you… it’s weird NOT being depressed after Christmas… hmm…
I agree with ULTRAMAN! We should have a seperate post for Wii codes. (Maybe I could get some people on my other games, I now have 4 that need to be filled up :P. But if we do, you should extend it so people could also put their gamertags and PS3… things down, so they could have a little fun themselves

Teddy: Because I actually like the movie, although it’s been years since I’ve watched it. I would LOVE to see Matt post a review of it. You’d know he’d have a ball with it.

This is the way the advent calender ends…
This is the way the advent calendar ends…
This is the way the advent calendar ends…

My impossible goal for the next year? Drive around town in a Kuribo’s Shoe. Wind that sucker up, and go to the store!

Mywife surprised me with The Millenium Falcon! It was such a surprise. It is so freaking awesome I can’t stop playing with it. The coolest thing on it is the boarding ramp is automatic and has lights and sound…the whole thing has light and sound but the ramp seals the deal. I also got the 200X version of Masters of the Uinverse Evil-Lyn, Zodac, and Whiplash (now I just need Kobra Khan and King Hiss and Mossman and Keldor and Faker (more than I thought when I sarted to type)… a bunch of DVDs, Managing the Disney Way book,a storm trooper bobble head…oh and a Dwight Shrute bobble head! Man my family loaded me up with a kick ass spread….I have all of my toys around me in a semi-circle and I sit there and drink and admire them.

Going into advent withdrawal too, starting to fear that this is going to end up like the 2002 calendar….

From my mother:
-The Aristocats, The Fox and the Hound, Robin Hood, and The Sword in the Stone on DVD (we’ve got every Disney film known to man on VHS, but I have this thing about getting those jazzed-up “Platinum Edition” DVDs)
-pajamas
-Hallmark’s Iron Man Christmas ornament
-Art: The Definitive Visual Guide

From my father:
-a $200 Visa gift card with which I bought clothing from Lucky Brand Jeans and Urban Outfitters, season 1 of Popular on DVD, Alphabet Juice (a book), The Best Creative Non-Fiction Vol. 2, and Soul Caliber III for PS2

There’s a weekly column at 411mania.com where the writer watches all the films in a franchise and this week it was on the Ghoulies.

JLAJRC: I’m convinced Matt could have a ball reviewin ANYTHING! Seriosuly! The guy’s got supernatural endurance when it comes to makin it through cheesey flicks.

-Sigh- I really would love to see what happens in the AC. I joked that with some of the clues this year pointing back to the 2002 calendar maybe this years would end on the 22nd like that one did. I hope that wasn’t a prophetic statement.

He has worked really hard on this this year and every year but it is weird we haven’t heard from matt since what Saturday? Hope we hear from you soon Matt.

Matt’s just enjoyin his new toys ya’ll. He’ll be back to finish the Advent Calender.

It’s Friday night for me! I’m roasting a chicken. Who is coming over for some chicken n’ beer?

which one of us X-ER’s is named Robbie Nick on the NeoGaf forums? Just asking bc this particular user has James Lipton wearing his red cup hat as his avatar. I wanted to say hi, but was’nt sure who it was. Its the thread about the lady who put 3 credit cards in her wii.

So between my family and my wife’s we celebrated Yule (12/21), Christmas (12/25) and Chanukah (12/26). We did this all at our house this year and yet somehow survived the ordeal without any long term mental scars. Actually it was quite an enjoyable holiday season. So here’s my final tally.;

Holiday Booty List 2008
DVD:
Birds Of Prey: The Complete Series
Farscape: The Peace Keeper War
Madonna: The Immaculate Collection (Music Videos)
Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdome
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
Krush Groove
The Dark Knight (2 Disc Edition with Digital Download)
Space 1999: The Complete Series
Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent DVD Collection
Gorgo
Wonder Woman: Season One
Books
Panel Two: More Comic Book Scripts By Top Writer
Babylon 5 Script Book: VOL1
Babylon 5 Script Book: VOL2

CD:
Robin Williams: A Night At the Met
The Bangles: Everything
Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio: I Am Santa Clause
Miscellaneous:
$200.00
Blade Runner Umbrella
Titanium Spork
Star of David Candle
One a Day (Multivitamin)
Ceramic treasure Chest (Made by daughter)
Clothes:
Joe Boxer Shorts (Funny Designs): 4 Pair

You guys/gals are lucky. All I got was a best buy gift card, an ‘arch’ card from McD,s (and I don’t know how much it’s for) and one of my sisters who is big on arts and crafts made me an Xmas ornament with my picture on it.
Sigh… I hate this recession.

Ok, this is getting ridiculous. Its going to be 2009 in less than 24 hours and the entry for the 23 isnt even up yet.

Guys, calm down! I know it’s crazy, but I imagine Matt has some form of a life. He has a job. And he got a ton of awesome Christmas swag. Perhaps he’s had to work a lot… or spent time with his new video games. Maybe he’s enjoying - perish the thought - his new Christmas presents! Maybe he’s spending time with family, or his woman, or maybe he has to go to his job in order to, you know, not get fired, so there hasn’t been time to take a bunch of pictures of legomen and Waiterbot. Give the guy a break! He’s invested a lot of money into this thing this year, and I’m sure he’ll come back to it… but surely it can’t be ruining your entire day just because he’s behind a bit! And if it IS, then you my friends need to step outside of your front door. He’ll get it done, just let him live his life a little, earn some money, and enjoy his Christmas presents… much like YOU have probably been doing.

Chris- It got ridiculous on the 25th. However, And proves a point. Maybe Matt is working on it right
now. Anyway, I don’t think he goes back to work
until after New Year’s Day. Let’s kill some time
in the mean time. Has anyone noticed in Star Wars
Clone Wars that one of the Republic officers looks
like John Cleese? They should have named that guy
Admiral Fawlty.

I remember the first Advent Calendar Matt ever did. He never finished it. Did anyone see what happened to
John Morrison on ECW just a little while ago?

What’s all this?! Squabbling in the ranks!?! Shame upon all of ye! Master Matt works his arse off at his job, then comes home and works the remainder of his arse off to give us a few minutes of entertainment all year! Christmastime rolls around, and he works even harder to keep us happy! God forbid he relax, swill some good booze, and enjoy the holidays just a little bit, like the rest of us!

Ungrateful sons of sea hags ye be! All of ye what says a word against Master Matt! Ye don’t deserve the final entries, by garr!

I says those of us what be still loyal keelhaul them mutineers! Arr, who be with me?!?

I get that Matt has a life and all, but you have to admit it would be kind of cool to read the rest of the holiday Advent Calendar before the holidays are completely over.

Seems to me like a lot of people here wish that the season would last longer anyway.

If you guys keep complaining, instead of the remaining days of the Advent Calander, Matt will write about more CONGO action figures!

Yeah! In the meantime, while we’re waiting, we can all play some rousing rounds of “The Minister’s Cat”!

Well of course Matt has a life of his own and deserves to enjoy his post Christmas times playing with new things. I think most of us feel the way I do that we hoped to spend more of 2008 with Matt reminiscing about Christmas and being each others support group for getting over the post Christmas blues. An advent entry or two or even just more fall out updates would have helped with that.

If anyone is actually upset with Matt they need to realize they have got more than they paid for (it’s a free site people) this year.

$400 cash (I already spent $200 of it on most of the below)
Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia seasons 1&2 and 3 DVD
Mad Men season 1 DVD
Wall•E DVD
Burn After Reading DVD
Sonic Mega Collection Xbox
Dreamcast games:
-Ecco the Dolphin
-Super Magnetic Neo
-Tennis 2k2
-Star Wars Demolition
-Jedi Power Battles
-Tokyo Bus Guide
The Pixar Touch book
Universal’s the Simpsons Ride double shot glass and Sideshow Bob pen
lots of chocolate
clothing: 2 sweaters and a sweat suit for making lazy about the house

So what if it’s past Christmas? The Advent Calender will get done. There’s only 3 entries left, it’s not like it’ll take Matt a long time to finish it. Besides, he gave us a GREAT cliffhanger to tide us over till he finish’s it up.

Chicken and beer! Chicken and beer! Oh ye gods that sounds delightful, save some for me! Then maybe after our meal we can go statue-humping? Oooo yes, let’s!

According to my MIL and husband Christmas isn’t over yet. We still have little Christmas to go, that’s not till the 6th. I believe that is the actual day Jesus got his gift brought to him. It’s still the holidays. So no complaining about the AC!

Teddy Ray You are the real rebel!

But at 17 when I did these things, I was bad ass to my friends.

Christmas last for 12 days until Jan. 6th, so he’s got 7 more days to finish it! :) Don’t worry guys, I’m sure Matt will be good on his word. Who knows what is going on in his life at the moment–maybe there was a family emergency or something…I’m sure the last three entries will be completed in good time..

She probably got those mugs ordered from snapfish. That is the most common site people order products with photos on them. I was just over there to confirm and apparently they have awesome magic mugs too. It looks plain until you put a hot beverage in it and then the photos appear. I would love to see waiterbot slowly appear.

Oh boy. How did my Christmas go? Lets just say it was a fun crazy event. Filled with chaos, presents, food, and visiting relatives. I did take a video of my old bedroom which made me look like some kind of loser to my family when I explained that a bunch of people on the internet wanted to see it.

My aunt picked me up at about 2:30pm Friday afternoon. I packed a backpack with my laptop, clothes and various other necessary items. I didn’t need my laptop but I video taped the night before a tour of my place and I thought my Granddad would get a kick out of it and would be rest assured that I am not living in a dumpster some place. I also knew I was going to be up later then they were so I brought a pair of headphones and downloaded a couple of movies ahead of time and that night watched them in bed before falling asleep at about 5:30am.

I helped my aunt with her computer. She is one of those types of people that thinks an emachine is just enough for her and the price is right. She is a little bit better then my Grandma at computers and is braver so I got to teach her some “tricks” like dragging and dropping and copying and pasting. Also she wanted to know how to insert pictures into her word processor so she could print pictures of food with recipes. She was thrilled when I showed her all these things. I have a feeling she will try to bribe me to visit more often just to do computer stuff with her.

That morning we got up, and headed off to Portland. I only got about 5 hours sleep and next time I will make sure that won’t happen again because the whole day I was either cranky and out of it or I laughed at every little thing. I made a couple of major mistakes because of being tired that I am suffering for now (like forgetting important stuff at my Grandparent’s house that I got in the mail today after me calling them right after I got home) so that is why. Me laughing at every little thing was actually quite amusing thinking about it now even though it drove everyone nuts around me.

My Grandma has been having serious health problems this last few years and about a month ago she had her femur in one leg replaced because of cancer. She is laying in a bed at a retirement center and is getting physical therapy to make her functional somewhat. Also she is drugged out of her freakin mind. It’s so sad to see your relatives go downhill like that. We don’t have the best relationship but it’s so depressing to try to have a conversation with someone that is obviously just half assed paying attention to what you are saying because they can’t help it. My mom has been on new medication since this last summer and she is the same way. A shadow of her former self. I wish there was a magic button to push for the both of them.

We went back to my Grandparent’s house and met up with some other relatives. I skipped last Christmas and Thanksgiving and all of that so some of these people I haven’t talked to in 2 years and I am glad I got to catch up with them. I brought home after getting yelled at by my aunt some school work and other things like that from my old bedroom at my Grandparents house. Apparently in her opinion the room would be more use to put in an extra bed rather then it be a time capsule of my childhood. You guys know how that is and what the right answer is. Geez talk about having an attitude she should of just backed off. She also snapped at me for inviting one of my favorite relatives that actually didn’t show up because of work related things. If I talk about that situation more this comment would be a million paragraphs long. My aunt should know there is no competition I love my cousin more and would defend her no matter the situation. That particular cousin didn’t show up and for her sake I am glad she didn’t.

Because of my aunt mentioned in the previous paragraph didn’t pick up my Granddad at the retirement center at a certain time my Granddad thought that it was worth trying to bitch about it the whole day and night. He has a short temper and so it’s not Christmas at his house without him yelling and screaming at people. Now you know one of the reasons why I skipped last year. My aunt in the previous paragraph vowed never to visit him again for Christmas so we will see next year. My aunt that I stayed with said that my best friend was a bad influence on me because I haven’t been working this last 2 years. HA! I don’t think so. If you know me I don’t let anyone be a bad influence on me or a major one in general. I fuck up my life just to show people I don’t let myself be controlled by other people. I am very stubborn and not in the best way sometimes.

That night my aunt and uncle and I went to her house. My aunt and I stayed up watching youtube videos, looking at ebay stuff she either bid or on has up listed, and then I went to bed at 1am. I was very tired but then it went to the point where I wasn’t tired for a while. I had a good sleep though and I got out of bed at 12:30. That was about the time I realized some stuff of mine was still in Portland and I had to call there right when I got home. We left to the half way point and we saw my best friend Harry sitting there. We joked about the fights, and said goodbye to each other. I said thank you several times and she said you were no burden! That made me feel good because I felt like I drove her crazy with my endless talking about crap she wasn’t interested in and laughing at inappropriate times.

2 sweatshirts, one has a hoodie and they both fit (my family acts like it’s very hard to get me clothes because I dress like a guy, it’s easy! Just buy me clothes you would get a 26 year old man! duh!)
a crockpot (my aunt that I stayed with noticed I didn’t mention using a crockpot while I mentioned cooking, I have one I just don’t use it all the time, now I will)
snacks like mixed nuts, cookies, candy bars, chocolates etc.
100 dollars (we always get that every year from our Grandparents)
a plunger and a toilet paper roll that was because I emailed this video to my aunt and the one aunt sent it to the other one which I knew that would happen.

They were going to demonstrate for us but my Granddad stormed in and started yelling again and killed our fun so they didn’t. I needed a decent plunger though we have a dollar tree one! Isn’t that hilarious they gave me a plunger and I am appreciative?

I think that is most of it. I got video and pictures but I am uploading it as private on youtube and not public to respect my families privacy. They don’t get why I like putting videos on youtube. If you really want to see pictures you can go to my myspace and look through my Christmas album I put there a day or so ago. The myspace link is in my blogroll on my blog.

I got a pre-paid phone, a shit load of candy, $70 Ed Hardy Shoes, A Wal-Mart Giftcard, $50 in cold hard cash & The Tales of Beedle the Bard……….it was a good christmas

*SIGH*

Mystie - I noticed you used the word fiance! Congrats. I am assuming you mentioned it at some point earlier than this and I must have missed it so sorry if this is late.

Tonight should be interesting. A friend of mine was going to throw a New Year’s Eve party, but he has a 3-year-old foster daughter now, so it’s gotten a lot more difficult to do stuff at his place. His wife wants to get the little girl in bed by 8, so everyone would have to leave by then, and what kind of lame-ass New Year’s Eve party would that be?

So I told him to come and have it at my apartment instead. I haven’t hosted anything at my own residence in a pretty long time, so it should be fun. I like playing hostess. XD

Also I’m going to see The Spirit tomorrow with the guys, and that should be fun too.

Ah, Goob, that’s one of the underlying purposes of one’s family: You can say, “I came from these people, and yet, I’ve made it this far!” without any trace of rancor or irony. I live among Ma’s side of the bloodline, and I often say that I’m glad I don’t share the last name of some of my relations. You can Love them, you just don’t have to Like them.

Crockpots are cool. I remember back in the 70’s when no modern household was complete without one. But we also had a fascination with wood-grain paneling and garish harvest colors. I miss those times, sometimes.

I’m sure the AC will be done before the holidays are over…of course, I’m talking about MLK day, Valentine’s Day, etc…

Matt, I hope you’re okay. In the meantime, let’s entertain ourselves by watching Clint Eastwood
movies on AMC, or watching 24 hours of Elf on
the USA Network.

What are you people doing for new years eve? I never go out on NYE. Tonight we are having dinner with my in-laws, and then afterwards my outlaws are coming over. I have a stack of fancy cheeses and champagne and wine, and good bread and cured meats and olives, and I am making an artichoke dip and a pumpkin cake. It will be low key and fun. We will play Left 4 Dead until I can’t stand it anymore. That game is giving me a nervous condition.

That sounds awesome, Rev. I should have gotten off my ass and made something cool for the party tonight but I went out shopping instead because I am a shameless consumer. Maybe if I take a really fast shower I’ll still have time to go to the store and get stuff with which to make some good dip or something. XD

I never do anything for NYE, because I rarely get invited to parties and when I do it’s with a bunch of people I’d rather not spend a holiday with. Tonight I’ll probably just watch DVDs, play Pokemon Pearl and eat up the last of the Christmas pie - not a bad night, as far as I’m concerned.

Here it is…
2:00 pm on the west coast, and I have ZERO PLANS. Like, I haven’t even decided if I’m gonna JUST STAY HOME.

New Years doesn’t have the same excitement when you’re up til 8am everyday anyway.

New Years hasn’t been to exciting for me since kids came into the picture. Plus husband has always been working.

This year I’m happy to say husband will be home! So after the kids go to bed we are going to watch Canadian Bacon, watch the last episode of Royal Canadian Air Farce, and maybe watch some of the fist season of Robot Chicken. We will experiment and dine on cheese filled crescent rolls and drink the champagne of ginger ales: Canada Dry.

Exciting New Year’s Eve here.
My producer is throwing a great party where my partner and I will be performing live for the guests. There will also be karaoke and lots of booze. He is also going to propose to his girlfriend tonight so that should be cute. Happy New Year!

Going to be a quiet one here in Lubbock. Nothing fancy. I’ll stay up till Midnight, write a little, drink some port, and read some Nietzsche. Pretty low key. Hope everyone has a good one! Stay safe!

knowaninja: JEALOUSY. I still have the first copy I ever owned of their first album, and I love it to this day.

Happy New Year, XE! I’m going to put on a cute dress, go out and try to force myself to have fun, even though what I really want to do is stay home and mope because my boyfriend can’t come up. *sigh*

Christmas was just okay this year. As far as loot, I got:
1. SEINFELD SEASON 9
2. SIMPSONS SEASON 11
3. Multiple history books
4. A 12 inch Godzilla figure (from the KB that was closing)
5. 50 dollars.

Dude…NYE is low key as it gets around the Reeves residence. It’s a night to reflect on the “interesting” year that passed and the hopefully more prosperous one ahead for not just me and mine…but for ALL OF US! On a cold January day about 3 weeks from now…change is gonna come, and Barack Obama will be OUR president, and like him or not…you gotta respect all that he will do for this country and all the barriers he’s broken down.

I’m gonna be playing Animal Crossing City Folk tonight because of the New Year festival by the civic center.

Norbert and Leigha make sure to go to Tortimer by the civic center//townhall and get your Ny Eve popper thing to explode at midnite. If you’re on I may visit.

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE YA’LL !!!

Hope yur havin fun! I’m makin some food up for the party. There’s ALOT of food! My resolution for this year, to get in better shape overall. Well, gotta go, still got some chow to finish makin up. I’ll be back later.
Rev : We have VERY similar tastes in food.

Hey all. Just stopping by to wish everyone a Happe New Year. Great hauls by everyone. I haven’t forgotten to post my Wii Friend code. I just wanted to get some practice in. I’m really rusty at Mario Kart and SSBM.

Hope everyone has a great New Year’s and stays safe. Remember, it’s always better and cheaper to just call a cab.

NYE/NYD is just another day around here for me. I’ll watch the ball go down, but that’s about it. My big plan tonite is to watch my WWE 24/7.

Normally I would say happy hew year but my best friend Harry hates how many times I’ve been saying it so I’ll just say happy friday night! Its funny how saying one thing over and over to someone will eventually piss them off. Know what I mean?

This new years might be better then last new years because last year we sat around at my aunts house and I watched videos on youtube. This year im actually at home so I can enjoy the evening in my own place. doesnt it always feel weird when you stay up real late and celebrate something at someone elses house? when I was little my cousin used to come over and hang out with me on new years and we would stay up way past midnight until everyone went to bed and then sneak downstairs and try to find the alcohol but we never could. My grandpa would always stay up later then everyone and we would always find him watching tv.

Ok so im going to try and post that video i made of my old room on youtube tonight. anyone who wants to watch it can find my channel by clicking my name.

My movie that I ordered about a week ago arrived today! It will make a fine choice for my viewing pleasure tonight. It’s Tron in case any ya’ll are curious.

My landlady’s family upstairs is playing dodgeball or something. The whole house is shakin’. Somebody come over here and do something about this nonsense.

Cheetara: I’m not trying to rub it in at all… it was a great show, and it always is with those guys. They are on tour right now, but I think a lot of the upcoming dates are in Europe. I love them, too. I have a signed picture of them when they played Safeco Field.

Last night was an uneventful one at the Ray household. Most (well, a lot) of our friends live a good ways away, so we just stayed home. Sad Teddy was sad.

I got my popper from Tortimer. I was crushed to see it only lasted for one freakin pop.

I think Tortimer has a crush on me. He told me how good I was looking in my New Year’s Eve shirt.

SON OF A BITCH! Am I the only person who asked for(and received) the new GNR cd? GOD DAMN IT

I got TWO things for Christmas. An all time low for me, and both from my parents. After such a horrendous year, being overlooked so grossly was just depressing.
But the two things WERE pretty awesome.
One is a Santana handbag that has a guitar studded down the side of it. It’s *awesome*.
The other is a necklace that has two amethyst stones and a heart shaped pendant with a unicorn in it (matches my unicorn charm bracelet).
My kids got a ton of stuff though, they are still going through it all so that’s nice. I took advantage of some summer sales to haul them in a fairly nice Christmas.

This year, my sister topped the list with a set of vintage GOONIES glasses each featuring the organ room scene.

A few extra gifts popped up the past few days. Well, three seperate things, but packaged as one. I got all my stuff Christmas morning, and I was a bit confused, because I knew my mother ordered some books from Amazon for me on, hell, Dec 15th ? It hit me I guess on maybe the 30th that I didnt have them, I said something to her while we were getting the trees (one of three) down, because last year I ordered something for myself from Amazon and NEVER got it. So, she went into thier room and found a Amazon box my dad someow forgot to wrap. Inside were The Far Side Galleries 2,4, and 5 ! I have the Complete Far Side, but my nature required them.

New Years was pretty low key. Not much going on, we had some family over (a total of 7 of us..whoo hoo what a party) and I had quite the buzz before I crached for the night. Good times.

You probably won’t read this, kittygirl, but I hope things are getting easier. You continue to be in my prayers.

KIITTYGIRL: It doesn’t suck if you open your mind and don’t expect an album like 80s and 90s GNR. And besides everyone who listened to it didn’t even listen to every track so they are wrongfully judging it. I’ll admit that the 14 years to make it was bullshit and another reason that people think it suck is because they put WAY to much hype on it. So in a way it’s stupid but the instrumentals are top notch and the fact that Axl can still get his voice that high just proves that new GNR or old, they ain’t goin away any time soon. And I respects you opinion so lets not fight over it. I was just stating my opinion.

i’m a little late to the game
pretty slow year as far as hauls go… everyone was strapped for cash it seemed

the inlaws gave my wife and i money and a board game called sequence. it’s pretty fun. they also took us to the last days of pompeii exhibit since it was leaving a few days later

here was a cool pic i took with my cell phone of a dead dog from there http://twitpic.com/vl6z

we just got gift cards mainly from my parents… best buy, barnes and noble, even one for groceries. a cool one was a money tree… sticks in a vase with money tied on like leaves haha… lots of candy too

my wife gave me (more fun stuff!):
-the zombie survival guide by max brooks
-zombie movies: the ultimate guide by glenn kay
-manly smelling soaps and such (sorry, no english leather)
-socks
-the roku netflix online viewer. this thing is AWESOME.
a couple days ago i watched ’secret of my success’ and remembered how crappy it was. i love the roku

Hello,
I told everyone to get my Dark Knight on DVD, so now I have a whole family of Dark Knight DVD’s

I posted earlier, but went home to NY to visit my family last weekend, and got the rest of my Christmas presents. The highlight this year (aside from the Premium Format Jason Voorhees) is the Dell Inspiron Laptop from my mom. She always goes above and beyond at Christmas, and she was at the top of her game this year. I think I mentioned once in passing that it would free up a lot of space in my apt if I had a laptop. Other gifts from my parents included:

- Mouse and messenger bag for the laptop
- An electric screwdriver with attachments
- Artie Lange’s book, “Too Fat to Fish,”
- $400.00 cash (which sadly I had to use to buy my aunts and cousins gifts)
- Simpsons boxer shorts
- Friday the 13th 2009 poster art calender
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 2009 poster art calender
- Captain Rex Mighty Mugg

- Gap cologne & body wash set
- A couple of dress shirts
- $50 Best Buy Gift Card
- $50 Target Gift Card
- $20 Walmart Gift Card
- Framed pictures of my niece

All in all, an excellent haul, and I still have one friend I haven’t exchanged with.

Awesome mugs, Matt! Love ‘em. Your hauls always contain the craziest, coolest Christmas shit on Earth. I’ll join in late and list some stuff we got:

Gears 2 for 360
Personal Trainer: Cooking Guide for DS
My Sims Kingdom and Order Up for Wii
Clothes. Lots of Clothes.
Gift cards for shopping, food, gas, movie theaters.
A new GPS
Cologne
Rachael Ray Cookware Set (no, I can’t cook. good thing she can)
Tons of Ohio State memorabilia
Cranium WOW

I hate you and your awesome christmas gifts.
i’d realy like a wii, and the ocean game is at the top of the list

same with the deep sea book.

I asked for money this year, because i wanted to save up for something, and I refused all negotiations of lesser, specific gifts. The result was a sad, desperate family scramble the figure out what i might like, resulting in few gifts I did.

Melissa: It was one of
the portable ones. It
worked for 15 minutes
and died. The 2nd one
never worked. So I gave
up and got a regular radio.

DVDs:
It’s Always Sunny in Philladelphia Season 1 and 2
Batman Mask of the Phantasm

TOYS! (who doesnt love em?):
Wizard World DCD Batman
Batman and Scarecrow Movie Masters 2 pack
Animated Series Alfred, Robin, Batman and clayfce 4 pack
Clone Wars white clone
Clone Wars oddball pilot
and…
drumroll please…
Hot Toys Bank Robber Joker. Fuckin awesome.

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