12/09/2003 Entry: "Advent Calendar: December 9th!"

You know, these things probably take a lot longer to put together than they look. Check out what the Advent Calendar has in store for December 9th -- "Instant Christmas" sponge capsules, a Milton Bradley commercial featuring reindeer playing "Battleship," and the arrival of Pauly Pooch to the wonderful world of Playmobil. It's 4 AM. Time to go eat gators.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 12/09/2003 04:42 AM EST

love the calender! can't wait for the grand finale, hopefully it will be a musical, like "The night-Mare Wingham before christmas"

Chestnuts roasted by ultramonkey23 @ 12/09/2003 07:39 AM EST

Poor Mista Snowman. His future looks bleaker (more bleak?) every day. What is Mare's problem? Is she some egolomaniac trying to take over Snowland, ala Skeletor? Is she gunning for some future snowy election? Only time will tell...

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 12/09/2003 08:29 AM EST

great review.

Chestnuts roasted by Romo @ 12/09/2003 09:23 AM EST

I had Travel Guess Who?.

As advertised, the game cards did not actually talk.

Chestnuts roasted by G'Tron @ 12/09/2003 09:30 AM EST

I love the calender too. I wonder if the people at Playmobil know about what you're doing. They'd probably like it since its the only way most of us had even heard of the company (and possibly why some of us have bought the Advent calender ourselves). Maybe they'll give you a free one next year

Chestnuts roasted by Spiffy McKracken @ 12/09/2003 10:08 AM EST

"I'd tell you that the reindeers' noses look like erect dog dicks, but that'd be awfully crass of me."

Thank God you dodged that bullet, Matt.

Review Mac and Me.

Chestnuts roasted by A-wel Cruiz @ 12/09/2003 10:17 AM EST

Yesterday at the WAWA I saw green Christmas tree Peeps!! I am amusing Matt with your mad Peep love they will be reviewed shortly? Can't wait! Such festive sugary goodness!

Chestnuts roasted by Y2JB78 @ 12/09/2003 10:38 AM EST

really late post for the article yesterday, and even on the wrong heading but I just have to say that "Guess what -- Daddy's still depressed. I didn't get it. Turning to the lamp since nobody else was in the room, I asked if Daddy's lasting woes really seemed justified. The lamp shook his head, sighed and pondered aloud whether the tree topper was made of 24 karat gold. The lamp and I chuckled, and though no less annoyed with Daddy's critical mood than before, we were satisfied enough in knowing that our hatred spawned together.

Interesting thing was...the lamp wasn't plugged in." was the funniest thing I've read on this site.....ever.....and that's saing a hell of a hell of a lot! I'm printing it out now, and I'm going to give a copy of that qote to everyone I meet from this day forward!

Chestnuts roasted by brandon @ 12/09/2003 10:51 AM EST

I have a travel version of Hungry Hungry Hippos (selling toys is cool). Pauly Pooch ROCKS! Maybe he will turn on Mare Winningham and bite her ass. I think Mare has gone to far in taking Mista Snowman's hat and broom. I am glad the poor sap has not got a carrot nose becasue it scares me to think of what Mare Winningham would do with that...I am off to the store to buy some XMas candy things and even if Matt doesn't want them I will put a picture on my web page and post a link so you all can see the interesting-ness.

Chestnuts roasted by Killer DUck @ 12/09/2003 11:13 AM EST

Killer Duck, I too hope that Pauly Pooch bites Mare in the ass. Mare, you f'n bitch!!!

Chestnuts roasted by J-Dog @ 12/09/2003 11:17 AM EST

bite bite bite! Bite them all, let Dog sort'em out!

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 12/09/2003 11:31 AM EST

Personally, I think Mare and Mista Snowman were probably together at one time, but have since split up. Now she gets everything--even the clothes from his...head. He should have got a better lawyer.

Divorce is hard on snowmen.

Chestnuts roasted by Sean @ 12/09/2003 11:43 AM EST

Thank gahd Mista Snowman's scarf is tattooed to his chest; otherwise, Mare would have that too... Back off, Mare. You already have a scarf!

Chestnuts roasted by Nachokhaki @ 12/09/2003 11:55 AM EST

My cousin had a travel verson of Don't wake Daddy. That game was so hard to play because it was so small.

Chestnuts roasted by pikachulover @ 12/09/2003 12:38 PM EST

me and my friends put the pils in our mouths, and swallow the (hopefully) nontoxic pills, and remove the sponges from our mouths, it's our way of giving birth to sponges.

We're stupid.

Chestnuts roasted by chad @ 12/09/2003 12:43 PM EST

Things you never knew about people you thought you knew: my roommate is watching the True Hollywood Story about Corey Haim. Scary.

Chestnuts roasted by Killer Duck @ 12/09/2003 01:14 PM EST

Wow, that Family Circus review had to be the funniest one yet, and that's saying something. The way you delved into poor Daddy's psyche was just pure genius. Good Work!!

P.S. I looked up Mare Winningham online, and I laughed as soon as I saw her picture. If you don't know what she looks like, make sure you find out. It makes the calendar so much funnier.

Chestnuts roasted by Y2JB78 @ 12/09/2003 02:01 PM EST

I swear to merciful and all powerful Santa Claus, but I know that my family had a tree-topper just like the one in the special. Honest. It was only a few Christmases ago that we finally got rid of the damn thing. It was covered in sap and the lights didnt' work much and all...

But this is the point -- maybe Jeffy's Grandad just bought the damn thing at the same store my parents did. Doesn't seem so magical now, does it?

Chestnuts roasted by Evan @ 12/09/2003 05:47 PM EST

The latest on my dumb ass lolipop quest- they are from "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and they have the regular suckers and also have giant candy cane things, gummi lolipops and a few other things all in that same theme. The lolipops intrigue me because they have little pictures inside them. I am not sure exactly if there's like a printed piece of plastic in there or if it's edible or what. I bought a bunch today, though. I got a couple of Santa, a couple of a Santa dressed guy with red hair, some ugly fat guy, a wizard looking guy and a couple of penguins. I can only barely remember this show so I have no clue who these people are.

Chestnuts roasted by Killer Duck @ 12/09/2003 06:11 PM EST

You know with most playmobil people you can take the hair off.
One time I had some gun powder and I took the hair right off filled the head with gunpowder put the hair back on after I drilled a small hole in the top of its head stuck a fuse into the hole lit the fuse a boom blew the hair right off and a left a hole in the back of the head it was awsome a most try for everyone.

Hehe sorry just popped into my head. HAHA it had a fuse coming out of its head oh it was funny to look at.

Chestnuts roasted by Geek @ 12/09/2003 06:31 PM EST

Holly jolly magumbo

Chestnuts roasted by Chubby Checkerzzzz @ 12/09/2003 06:57 PM EST

Wait I need to put an DO NOT TRY THAT AT HOME really don't I mean it.

Hehe BOOM ah memories

Chestnuts roasted by Geek @ 12/09/2003 06:57 PM EST

I have the travel trouble. Mini games be da cool shits

Chestnuts roasted by Tommy @ 12/09/2003 07:04 PM EST

I now have the Rudolph, Bumble, and Cat In The Hat Bellywashers. Do not follow in my footsteps, Bellywashers = liquid shit TM. Just ask if you can dump the stuff inside and take off x-amount of money.

Boredom Blast should be changed to Definitely Death.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt (#2?) @ 12/09/2003 07:25 PM EST

We had the travel Connect Four and Battleship...and proceeded to loose half of the peices in the seats and on the floor of the car. Years later we still find Battleship pegs in the house from the other half of...pegs..left. yeah! >: Last year I wanted the Playmobil nativity set and Toys 'R Us didn't have any! Or my mom didn't look... hopefully she will find the calendars this year!

Chestnuts roasted by Dethstryke @ 12/09/2003 07:57 PM EST

Oh I just remembered! I was looking in my movie book I have, and I came across "The Worst Witch". I'm at school so I don't remember all the details, but the word "delightful" was in there. They gave it 3 1\2 out of 5 stars.

Chestnuts roasted by dethstryke @ 12/09/2003 08:05 PM EST

blowing stuff up is fun...fireworks are my friends...

Chestnuts roasted by heeloyd @ 12/09/2003 08:24 PM EST

And the twisted tale of our friends from Playmobil continues with the introduction of a playful pal for Miss Mare. Matt, what you do with an advent calendar and 25 kids' toys and accessories is nothing short of inspired.

Chestnuts roasted by starwenn @ 12/09/2003 09:28 PM EST

I don't post as much as I should.... shame on me....

Mare is scaring me... I just know that inside she is worried about the good of Mista Snowman, she's gonna set fire to him, it'll be like Frosty, only homicidal

I bought Nerds Rope today. I took a bite and hated it. So I put it down. 10 minutes later I realized I had eaten it all. So maybe I like Nerds Rope.

Chestnuts roasted by Tony @ 12/10/2003 03:54 AM EST

:twitch: must...have...nerds...rope... :twitch:

heh...boredom has gotten to meh again...:passes out:

Chestnuts roasted by heeloyd @ 12/10/2003 04:34 AM EST

The conclusion? Nerds Rope is awesome.

And on the subject of Mizz Winningham, proof from the IMDB of her deceitful nature.

"She played a virgin in the movie St. Elmo's Fire (1985) while she was pregnant"

She lies! Mare Winningham, why must you corrupt the rightous and good Mista Snowman!?!?! WHY?!?!?1

Chestnuts roasted by Tony @ 12/10/2003 07:37 AM EST

Hey,
How about a review of the Star Wars Christmas CD? And let me know if you want to see that Alf tape I emailed about. Keep up the good work.

Chestnuts roasted by CHRIS @ 12/10/2003 08:46 AM EST

Did the Transformers or GI Joe have a christmas episode? As a kid I always thought it was required by law that all cartoons have a christmas sho2.

Chestnuts roasted by Spiffy McKracken @ 12/10/2003 10:02 AM EST

FYI: Matt's interview on UGO

Matt Caracappo lives in NY. His jaws clicks, but only when he eats carrots. He likes toys, cartoons, bad movies, sharks, and the marketing process. He tells people that red is his favorite color, but it's really blue.

Time With The Editor:
1) What is one of your favorite videogame moments?
That's easy. It's from Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda. You know, the first one. I loved feeding the traitor Moblin that big chunk of carrion. I wish I could do that all day long.

2) What's the one movie you love that everyone else seems to hate?
Oh, I could name tons. Three of my favorite movies are Gremlins II, Dick Tracy, and Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion.

3) What's something about you that people would be most surprised about?
I drink V8 regularly, and everyone who knows me has to deal with the fact that I consider it a religious experience. While drinking it, no one is allowed to talk to or look at me. If someone enters the room while I'm having some V8, they're immediately waived to stay put and be quiet until I'm done.

4) What led you to your passion (a.k.a. the subject matter of your website)?
Anyone who visits X-E will immediately realize that I've never grown up. Nothing really led to my passion for what I write about -- I've always had it, and it's always been there.

5) What's the next technological innovation you're looking forward to?
Okay, picture this. A soda company sells twelve-packs of clear liquid with various powdered mixtures. The mixtures let you turn the clear liquid into your soda of choice - Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, whatever. Patent pending, folks.

6) Could videogaming ever become a professional sport, and why/why not?
I doubt it. If getting fat and lazy became a sport. I could see videogames serving as a sort of jumprope-practice type of deal. I'm not saying that saving the princess isn't a proud moment, but it's not really worthy of a trophy unless, you manage to do it by working the controller solely with your feet.

7) What celebrity/person would you want downloaded onto your hard drive and stored for all time?
There was once a pro-wrestler named Mantaur. He was some big oaf who walked down to the ring wearing a hollowed-out moosehead. I think he'd be interesting to have trapped on my computer.

Chestnuts roasted by J-Dog @ 12/10/2003 10:35 AM EST

Matt,

I love the part on how you're so serious when it comes to drinking V8 juice. Do you drink any of the new V8 fruit mixes?

Chestnuts roasted by J-Dog @ 12/10/2003 10:38 AM EST

Hey Spiffy-- there wasn't an *animated* Transformers Christmas story, but there was one that appeared in text story format in Good Housekeeping, about Bumblebee giving some of his fuel to power a christmas tree.

If anyone's moms out there have saved their LHJs since Decepter, er, December 1984, hunt it down! It'd probably be a great article fuel... just think: someone had to write a Transformers story that only housewives would read!

No idea about GI Joe, sorry.

Chestnuts roasted by G'Tron @ 12/10/2003 10:40 AM EST

(Uh, LHJ stands for "Ladies' Home Journal." I'm not certain which of the Seven Sisters magazines it was printed in, but Good Housekeeping sounds more right than any of the others.)

Chestnuts roasted by G'Tron @ 12/10/2003 10:44 AM EST

I know I am the last person to hear about this group, but for those who miss Freddy Mercury's unitards and fun music videos about rockin':
http://www.thedarknessrock.com/video/

Chestnuts roasted by ME @ 12/10/2003 11:22 AM EST

By the by, whut-up with the Richard Simmons dude in the phone ad? He's spookier than Not Me from the Family Circus review. GAHH! There he is again!!

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 12/10/2003 11:42 AM EST

Oh my God, yes you HAVE to review "Mac and Me"!!! The movie that couldn't decide if the message it wanted to send to it's audience was "be nice to people in wheelchairs" or "enjoy brand-name fast food and soft drinks".

Chestnuts roasted by LaGremlin @ 12/10/2003 01:26 PM EST

Whomever put that interview with UGO up, thanks, it was a fun read.

I just wanted to comment on something though. For the heck of it I decided to look up the name "Matt Caracappo" on Google, to see if any interesting hits would come up, and surprisingly enough, they had one listed on a website as a "buyer beware" type of thing, claiming this person ripped someone else off during a trade for X-Men figures.

Odd, I thought. Wasn't sure if this was the same one who runs the site or not.

Chestnuts roasted by Nyssa @ 12/10/2003 03:07 PM EST

Nyssa, did you look up Matt Caracappo or Matt Caracappa? I looked up the latter (which is his actual name, I think!) and didn't see anything like that. I refuse to believe that our beloved Matt would rip off anyone! I think UGO user just momentarily had a lapse and spelled it wrong.

Chestnuts roasted by purplegirl247 @ 12/10/2003 03:40 PM EST

I just picked up my Playmobil Advent Calendar last night and was shocked to find that it is all in pieces and must be assembled. Now I won't be able to enjoy the same thrill of discovery that I get from reading the articles. Could I possibly assemble this thing blind folded? I've avoided looking at the back of the box but it seem inevitable. Any suggestions?

Chestnuts roasted by kentdog @ 12/10/2003 04:40 PM EST

have someone else put it together :)

Chestnuts roasted by heeloyd @ 12/10/2003 05:00 PM EST

The obvious solution would be to have one of your friends put it together. However, this friend must be (a) close enough to you that they won't look at you funny for buying a Playmobil object, and (b) kind-hearted enough not to 'spill the beans' and ruin said surprise! Good luck!

Chestnuts roasted by purplegirl247 @ 12/10/2003 05:01 PM EST

I agree wit' purplegirl, and doing them a similar deed won't hurt either. Or offering money will work in a pinch.

Chestnuts roasted by kingkash @ 12/10/2003 05:08 PM EST

woo hoo! first post! wait, maybe not.

Chestnuts roasted by brandon @ 12/10/2003 06:05 PM EST

purplegirl, I looked up Matt Caracappo. Although since you said that the O was a typo, it probably isn't the same person. I wondered initially because the site also said that the "Matt Caracappo" in question had a NY address, so I thought I was putting 2+2 together, however, now I see I was wrong, as this Matt ends his name with an A.

So Matt, if you read this at all, sorry for the mix up.

Chestnuts roasted by Nyssa @ 12/10/2003 06:18 PM EST

I am Matt CaracappO (notice the O). Ha.. just kidding, who wants to trade X-Men figures?

/end stupidity

I have to admit, that V8 bit was good.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt (#2?) @ 12/10/2003 06:40 PM EST

Having Mantaur trapped in a computer would rawk... as long as he mooed when you double-clicked his belly.

Chestnuts roasted by Nachokhaki @ 12/10/2003 06:53 PM EST

I entered "Matt Caracappa" (with an "A") on Google. I also got a link to UGO with the article about his clicking jaw etc. Also found an article that says some dude named David something was this guy's new favorite internet funny man, edging out Matt Caracappa from X-Entertainment. I think that the UGO article with the "o" got it wrong. ALso found links to X-E with the "a" name.
Speaking of popping jaws, my roommate's jaw makes all sorts of noise like that when she eats. I can hear it across the room!

Chestnuts roasted by Killer Duck @ 12/10/2003 09:59 PM EST

I like how when you Image Google matt caracappa, a picture of a Ghoulie is the only image.

Chestnuts roasted by allicat @ 12/11/2003 12:09 AM EST

I made cholcoate risce krispy treats today! I was bored and started to get into stuff and thats what i ended up with. haha...that stuff is a workout for your wrists let me tell you!

Chestnuts roasted by Santa=Satan @ 12/11/2003 12:56 AM EST

I made cholcoate risce krispy treats today! I was bored and started to get into stuff and thats what i ended up with. haha...that stuff is a workout for your wrists let me tell you!

Chestnuts roasted by Santa=Satan @ 12/11/2003 12:56 AM EST

Take longer than they look huh? Well now I'm curious, how long do they take? My guess would be 2 hours...

Chestnuts roasted by David @ 12/11/2003 11:38 AM EST

allicat, maybe Matt is really a goulieand he just uses a picture of some guy with multi-colored hair so no one will catch on...

Chestnuts roasted by Killer Duck @ 12/11/2003 12:08 PM EST

Matt you are falling behind again dude,2 days now if you don't get an update in today sometime grrr...

Chestnuts roasted by pogocorpse @ 12/11/2003 12:26 PM EST

Maybe matt is going to stop his advent calendar earlier this year. What do you mean that the advent calendar comes dissasembleled?????

Chestnuts roasted by dethstryke @ 12/11/2003 12:58 PM EST

Its done up to the 10th he just hasnt updated the home page yet

Chestnuts roasted by allicat @ 12/11/2003 01:23 PM EST

Thanks for the heads up Allicat! I was wondering what had happened. Next time I should get off my lazy ass and look myself instead of waiting for Matt to do all the work for me!

Chestnuts roasted by Y2JB78 @ 12/11/2003 01:42 PM EST

Hey, maybe with the snow and beer and all, bet Matt's head 'sploded, or (They Call Me) Mista SnowMan needed his help with the Mare Winningham situation. Justice wields a Nerds Rope during the holidays.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 12/11/2003 02:52 PM EST

Refering to advent day 10 my mom always baked cookies for santa. Matt, are you going to review red peeps?

Chestnuts roasted by pikachulover @ 12/11/2003 03:58 PM EST

Mysterious Boy!!! He is the one who holds the future for our christmas crew!! The mute kid is always the hero!!!!!

Chestnuts roasted by heeloyd @ 12/11/2003 04:56 PM EST

Mysterious boy has an ugly turtleneck. I thought it was a girl at first. I'm not sure what to think, but I have an idea that Mare will use her femininity to get the Amnesiac Boy to join her reign of terror. He should side with Bird, though because Bird is cool.

Chestnuts roasted by Killer Duck @ 12/11/2003 05:57 PM EST