Week of December 4, 2005

December 10 2005 -- It's Christmas, dangit. It's that time of the year again. The outside world is covered in a half a foot of snow. The temperatures have been dropping below the freezing mark on a consistent basis. People have lights all over their houses and trees with presents under them inside. All this can only mean one thing...



Yup, it can only mean its that time of the year where the companies try to milk us (ha ha, milk us, how funny is that being that this is a cereal review?) for everything we are worth and come out with special holiday themed cereals. Today's culprit is Lucky Charms. Much like they did during Halloween our friends at General Mills are back with another theme for the kids to beg for and the mothers to buy. Limited Edition Lucky Charms.

The culprits this time? The pine tree, the stocking, the candy cane, the snowman, the ornament, the wreath, and the present. Hmm, sounds a bit to me like Christmas. Perhaps people should be protesting out there that a cereal company is putting out an overtly religious holiday themed cereal. I mean, what is the world coming to. Not only do we have The Chronicles of Narnia out there polluting out movie theaters (great movie, by the way, saw it at 9:50AM this morning), but now on our store shelves we have cereals conforming to the Christian views of December. How is a Jewish mother or a Muslim father supposed to explain to their kids that they wont be eating any Lucky Charms this season?

How are they supposed to break it to the kids that they wont be able to scarf down delicious marshmallows in the morning? That only their privileged white Christian friends will be eating good in the morning. Hmm, sucks for them. I like the way they put "Holiday Marshmallows" on the box. Who are they trying to fool or not offend? Bah. What other holiday out there has a tree with ornaments, presents, stockings, and wreaths? They went all out making Christmas marshmallows but just couldn't commit to calling them that. Scardey cats. You know, I just took a look for the Kosher symbol on there and cannot spot it. Hmm. Perhaps the rabbis got angry? Avi, explain that one to the peanut gallery, would you please?









So, the cereal. Well, it's Lucky Charms. If you haven't had it before then either..

1) Your family was against sugared cereals.

2) You are foreign.

3) You are a hardcore Christian who's family believed that the inclusion of a leprechauns as it's mascot was a sign of Satanism and would have nothing of the sort in it's house.

4) ... You tell me. There is no excuse!!



But for the rest of us we grew up on this cereal, sugar and all, and we know exactly what it is. This version is no different at all. The marshmallows look different but that is about it. Taste? Tastes just like it should, but please note, if you have just brushed your teeth don’t go putting a handful of this stuff into your mouth. I just did it now to get myself in the reviewing spirit and it was not a very pleasant experience.

4 cheeses.

Posted by LordJezo

December 9 2005 -- More photoshopees!! Here are the latest photoshop entries..

From joph this time. Oh the distaste!!!!

Posted by LordJezo

December 9 2005 -- World Cup 2006 matchup. The final draw just finished and here are the results for the first round of groupings.



Thoughts?

Posted by LordJezo

December 5 2005 -- I need real drugs. What a morning. Not only was I running low on gas but trusty (and by trusty I mean I trust it to have some kind of accident each and every day I drive it) Route 78 was backed up with traffic as far as the eye could see. Once again a tractor trailer had fallen over and I was stuck in it's aftermath. A normally easy 45 minute commute had turned into an over 2 hour ordeal packed with back roads and round about ways just to get myself to work. Since the morning was going so badly I decided to stop off at the local truck stop and pick me up some energy drinks in order to get through the day. While browsing the stocked shelves of the fridge I came across something new. It promised me a boost of energy and by the sound of the commercials ( Be nocturnal ) I thought like I would be woken up and ready to seize the day.



There it is. The myth, the legend. Oh, and what's that on top of it? That's the MDX, but compared to the prize that is hiding just under that think piece of khaki material it really does not seem as exciting. But back to the MDX. Color wise it looks just like sweet sweet antifreeze. Yummy. Nothing like something ecto-cooler green to get me going with my day. Ingredient wise? Well, according to the bottle it has a "power pack" of ingredients. what the heck does that mean anyway? Well, it means guarana seed extract taurine, panax ginseng extract and some other various natural stuff. I also notice caffeine on the list, which is nice since that is always what Mountain Dew was known for.

So what do the people in charge say about it?

"Mountain Dew helped create the energy category and MDX is the next logical step in our evolution," said Katie Lacey, VP-marketing, carbonated soft drinks, Pepsi-Cola North America. "Consumers are increasingly looking for energy - witness the explosion of energy drinks - there is great opportunity for an entirely new category. MDX satisfies the consumer who is looking for a boost of energy but refuses to sacrifice taste and refreshment."

Um, yeah. Helped create the energy category? (According to PatBoyX this is true) Unless they are somehow related to Red Bull, which as far as I can tell they are not, that statement might be a bit presumptuous. What else is in that press release of theirs? "MDX satisfies the consumer who is looking for a boost of energy but refuses to sacrifice taste and refreshment." Hmm, well, lets give it a shot and see what happens.

MDX tastes like bad candy. The flavors sort of change as you drink it and get used to it but tasting good it does not, at least not to this guy. I kept drinking it trying to get used to it but all I could come up with was liquid sour candy which had lost all of its sour punch and was now just sort of a bland lemon-lime citrus mess. I was happy when it was finished and sat back in my seat expecting a nice rush of energy I have come to expect with Mountain Dew products... and I kept waiting for the next 2 hours that I was in my car trying to get to work. Never happened. Well, okay, no energy rush, but how about at least keeping me awake? Nope, that never happened either. I just drove and yawned and felt like going to bed. Red Bull never treated me this way. Last time I was in Vegas I pounded Red Bulls all night and they kept me wired. Heck, Red Bull even kept me awake when I was in Atlantic City last summer.

Oh well.

So what are we left with here if it doesn’t taste good and it doesn’t keep you awake? Um, we are left with a not so good tasting Mountain Dew spin-off with a neat looking bottle and a nice color liquid.

2 cheeses.

Don't bother. Someone take me back to Vegas.

Posted by LordJezo

December 4 2005 -- iPhotoshop Hoo Ahh.. yet another Photoshop submission, this time by our budday Big Joe aka Galgon.



Reports say it about an hour to create.

Now that is a dedicated reader.

Posted by LordJezo