It's Sunday, It Must Be Classic Commercials

We're Finally Going In!Vintage Kings Dominion Video

I'm not usually a big fan of any video on YouTube over 3 1/2 minutes long. But this video of Kings Dominion, which clocks in at near 10 minutes, is pretty darn awesome and I just had to share it.

The poster, KDFanPre91, took some old home video, slides and television commercials and edited them together into a tribute to the Virginia theme park pre-1991. There's several videos posted, each spotlighting a different section or two of the park. The video here is for International Street, Hanna-Barbera Land and Lion Country Safari. You'll see some great footage of the International Street fountains; the walk-around characters like Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear and even Hong Kong Phooey; and the old Monorail Safari ride...plus there's some great TV commercials sprinkled in (none of which I've found on YouTube before!)

If the video is too long for you, you can just scan through it and get the idea. There's a front seat POV of the Scooby-Doo Roller Coaster that's a bit long...it runs from 3:25 to 4:53 if ya wanna skip it. But make sure you don't skip past 5:59, for there you'll get almost one full minute of glorious footage inside my all-time favorite ride: Smurf Mountain! I've searched the internets high and low for some video of the interior of this attraction and this video gives you a good look inside the ride. It's pure Smurfy goodness! Enjoy...

My Week In Movies - D.C. & Vegas

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) [PG] I'm almost embarrassed to have enjoyed this movie as much as I did, which is kind of sad in and of itself because I had no problem enjoying The Hannah Montana Movie a few months ago. In this second instalment, Ben Stiller travels to Washington D.C. and does comic battle with another group of historical figures and artifacts come to life. Amy Adams plays Emilia Earhart, Bill Hader is General Custard, and thanks to CG - Abe Lincoln rises from his chair in his memorial and does some wacky shtick. It's all so silly and fluffy and good natured that you can't help but crack a smile while watching. It's a good flick for a Family Movie Night; the violence and action is slapstick and the language is kept clean throughout.

The Hangover (2009)[R] The first movie to be rewatched by me since starting "My Week In Movies" early last year. (Isn't that exciting?!) This painfully funny movie is still alot of fun a second time around and now that it's hit DVD it's sure to become a "quotable classic". My favorite: "Tigers love pepper. They hate cinnamon."

Read my original write-up: My Week In Movies 6/28/09

Yogi Watch 2010:First Teeny Tiny Glance

I was pretty darn excited to find this cell phone picture on Facebook that someone had snapped on the set of the Yogi Bear movie. The movie is currently filming in New Zealand. Another movie currently in theatres called Avatar, was also filmed in New Zealand. So, from this broad connection we can only assume that Yogi Bear will be one of the highest grossing movies of all time!

Brush With Greatness

Personal anecdote time!

I thought this might make for an interesting subject: famous people I've met...or at least caught a glimpse of! Seeing a celebrity in a performance doesn't really count, like going to a concert or a show. Basically, you've got your celebrity encounters where you actually come face to face with someone and exchange words and/or you've got your Famous Person sightings, perhaps seeing a celebrity while you're out and about. Here's my list of both types...

...starting with my biggest and most thrilling one. In fact, I've already done an entire post about my meeting with my favorite singer, Debbie Gibson, at a CD signing in Washington D.C. back in 1995. Obviously, that was pretty exciting for me. I've been a huge fan of Debbie's since freshman year of high school. But let's move on...


One of my favorite filmmakers is Baltimore native John Waters. He made two of my all-time favorite movies, Cry Baby and Serial Mom. In 1996, I was standing in line to buy a movie ticket at the Charles Theatre in downtown B'mo and the friend I was with noticed and whispered to me that John Waters was standing behind us in line. I knew if I didn't at least turn around and say something I would spend the next several weeks regretting it. So I turned around and introduced myself and told him how much of a fan I was of Cry-Baby and how it got me interested in writing my own stuff. The only thing I actually remember was I said, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'd kick myself if I passed up this opportunity to tell you how much I've enjoyed your work." And he said, "Well, we wouldn't want you to kick yourself...would we?" Classic.


My other big, exciting Brush With Greatness was the time I not only met, but also got to work with Muppeteer Kevin Clash. At the time, I worked at the kids museum in Baltimore and we had a very large Sesame Street exhibit one summer. The museum had booked Kevin Clash to come and perform his most popular character, Elmo, to an audience one afternoon. Everyone at the museum knew how much of a Muppets/Sesame Street fan I was and so they kindly selected me to write a short script for Elmo to perform. The script even included me introducing and interacting with Elmo a bit...a very big thrill, indeed. Of course before the audience arrived I got to chat with Mr. Clash and ask him all sorts of nerdy questions about Muppets. He even video taped a short segment for my cable-access show with me. Pretty cool...no, very cool!


When I worked at the museum, we also had a few other celebrities drop by for one reason or another. Before the museum's grand opening, there was a media day where Rosie O'Donnell (who was in the middle of her run as host of her popular afternoon talk show) visited one Sunday afternoon for photo ops with some of the shinny new exhibits. I didn't actually talk to Rosie, but I was part of her security detail...which pretty much just involved holding a walkie-talkie and making sure too many people didn't crowd around her. We also had talk show host Montel Williams host a benefit at the museum. He taped a few segments for his show there but again I didn't talk to him.


However, on another occasion we had Maury Povich and his wife Connie Chung as MC's for some gala event that was going on there. Before the event, we were standing around waiting for things to get going and I was joking around with one of my co-workers. I was telling a (slightly off-color) joke and didn't realize that Maury was taking a quick walk-through of the museum before the event. As I was telling the joke, he happened to walk up the stairs behind me and overheard me telling the joke. I thought for sure my job at the museum was finished, but instead Maury Povich laughed and then leaned over to me and told me a joke that was WAY worse than anything I had just muttered. That was pretty cool.

At another point in the museum's infancy, Michael J. Fox was supposed to stop by for some photo ops. He ended up canceling at the last minute and sending some girl from the cast of Spin City in his place. Thanks. Also, one day when I wasn't working Antonio Banderas just showed up as a paying customer. He was apparently very nice and talked to everyone and answered all sorts of questions. I missed the whole thing. Of course I also missed the whole major film production set up across the street while his wife Melanie Griffith filmed an entire action scene for the movie Cecil B. Demented.

I have two minor Walt Disney World celebrity sightings. One time while in line for a Dole Whip in Adventureland, Harry Hamlin and his family were in line behind us. Thrilling, eh!? Another visit, I was in Downtown Disney and saw 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Kerri Strug getting out of a van to do some shopping. I know...jealous, right?

When I worked at Hersheypark's Guest Services department, WWE wrestler Nick Foley (a.k.a. Mankind) came up to our window for some comp. tickets he had on hold. This just gets more exciting, doesn't it!?

When they were filming the comedy For Richer or Poorer staring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley in Baltimore I was totally excited because one night we stumbled upon where they were filming. They had turned the outside of some crappy old building in downtown Baltimore into the flashy facade of a Vegas casino. I went to the area everyday hoping to catch a glimpse of filming. After a couple of days of snooping around, I witnessed some honest to goodness Hollywood filmmaking. Wayne Knight (Newman from Seinfeld) was shooting a scene one afternoon. He noticed my friend and I standing around and waved hi to us between takes.

And finally...I was a paid extra on the motion picture extravaganza Thomas and the Magic Railroad. I got paid like $50.00 to stand around on the set all day for something close to 12 hours. Anywho, I ended up sitting next to Mara Wilson on a train (not Thomas) as the train left the station, went about 30 feet, stopped, backed up and then did it all over again - about 13 times.

Leave your Brush With Greatness stories in the comment box. I'm sure they'll make for a great read!

Classic Commercial Sunday - 1/10/10

Favorite Movies of the 2000's

I've thought about it long and hard and I've come up with a small list of my favorite movies from the past decade. The 2000's were no 1980's...but there were still some fine films that I've enjoyed quite a bit in the last ten years. Here they are in order of release...

Bring It On (2000) Like any warm-blooded male, I have a special place in my heart for cheerleaders. This comedy has become sort of a cult classic at this point, but I was a fan of it when I saw it in the theater 10 years ago. Funny, energetic and who would have guessed it would have spawned FOUR direct-to-DVD sequels? Oh, also...one of the best closing credit sequences ever!

Best in Show (2000) There's something to be said for a movie that made me a fan of Ed Begley Jr. Christopher Guest's improved look at the world of professional dog shows is some of the best character driven humor you'll ever see. The film boasts an incredible cast of comedic talent like Eugine Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Bob Balaban, Michael McKean, John Michael Higgins, Jane Lynch, Larry Miller and the amazing Fred Willard.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) Before self-referential humor became so common place that my 4 year old son got it, Kevin Smith's ode to his previous four movies was the last great hurrah for making jokes about other movies that you've made. Now that DreamWorks Animations has gotten in on making references to everything else they've already made - I'm kinda over the whole thing.

Monsters, Inc. (2001) Not quite as fondly remembered in the pantheon of Pixar films, I've always ranked this fast paced comedy as my favorite from the folks at Pixar. Billy Crystal's Mike Wazowski and John Goodman's Mike "Sulley" Sullivan make a perfect comedy team. It's one of those rare films that truly takes you to another place and it's funny as all get out in the process.

Lilo & Stitch (2002) The ads for The Princess and The Frog quote a critic as saying it's "the best Disney film since The Lion King." As somewhat of a Disney cartoon expert, I'd have to rank Lilo & Stitch as the best output from the studio in the 2000's. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the movie's Walt Disney World attraction Stitch's Great Escape...which has to be one of the worst ways to spend time in the Magic Kingdom.


Finding Nemo (2003) This is one of those movies that as an adult animation lover and a parent, you just have to let go of and let your kids watch it a million times until you can quote the entire movie. Even after having this film run a million and a half times in our home, I could still sit down and watch the whole thing from beginning to end and be amazed at how wonderful it is in every aspect.

Team America: World Police (2004) A perfect parody of big budget action films and also the strange marionette movies of the 60's. But I think it's inclusion on my list is best explained by the MPAA's official rating classification: Rated R for graphic crude and sexual humor, violent images and strong language - all involving puppets.

Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005) The recent Star Trek movie got a lot of credit (even from me) for hitting the nail right on the head as far as rebooting a classic movie franchise while still paying tribute to the original films. Fully Loaded was Herbie The Love Bug's first time on the big screen in over 20 years and it was just as fantastic and magical as the four films that came before it. Without ignoring the classic films, Herbie rode once again with style, grace, all the same gadgets, sound effects and attitude and squirted oil on the feet of anyone who dared to stand in his way!

Hot Rod (2007) Still an undiscovered jem, this off-beat comedy staring SNL's Andy Samberg and the easy-on-the-eyes Isla Fisher just zeroed in on my personal sense of humor and surprised me with how dead-on funny it was. For those of you with a more refined taste in movies...it also has Academy Award winner Sissy Spacek in it too!

The Simspons Movie (2007) Anyone who is a fan of the television series had waited 18 long years to see The Simpsons on the big screen. In my opinion, it happened at the right time and of course, Homer and family delivered. The Simpsons Movie was the perfect balance of bringing the elements of the TV show to the larger format of the feature film without alienating the spirit of the show but making it edgy enough to make it worth $9 bucks to see in a theatre. This is the ONLY film, in the last 7 or 8 years, that I saw in the theatre and then rewatched immediately when it was released on DVD. Mmmm...DVD!


Strange Wilderness (2008) The title of Stupidest Movie of the 2000's would have to go to Meet The Spartans, but the Stupidest Funny Movie winner is Strange Wilderness. This idiotic movie is so stupid that I laugh uncontrollably through the whole thing. Large chunks of this film are just stock footage of nature with silly voiceovers. Other highlights include a guy vomiting into a shark's mouth, a wild turkey clamping down on another guy's privates, and the accidental death of Bigfoot. This movie doesn't even have an ending. It goes on for about 80 minutes and then in the middle of a scene everyone starts laughing and then the credits just roll. Good stuff!

Here's to the next 10 years of cinema!

My Week In Movies - Happy New Year!

I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009) [PG-13] I don't know why I feel the need to see every single teen comedy that comes out!? Perhaps I have some unresolved issues with my non-existent social life in high school or perhaps it's just that I don't like my movies too deep or complicated. In any case, Beth Cooper is a pretty unimaginative last day of high school tale. The trailer gave away all the interesting parts when class valedictorian Denis professes his love to Beth Cooper...whom he's never spoken too...in front of the whole school on Graduation Day. Denis goes on to insult a few other classmates including the class bully and Beth's boyfriend. The remaining hour and a half of the film is Denis & Beth and their friends running from Beth's crazy muscle-bound boyfriend who wants to kill Denis. How does the film explain the boyfriend's over-the-top reaction to Denis' actions? They simply explain that he's high on cocaine. Isn't that a nice touch!?


I Love You, Beth Cooper was interesting and lighthearted enough to keep my attention but it's pretty bland and not very funny. The film puffs on for about 15 minutes longer than it needs to. Probably OK for older teens - there is much teenage drinking, drug references, and teenage sexual situations and of course, a healthy dose of cursing.


Scary Movie (2000) [R] The success of Scary Movie is directly responsible for the recent onslaught of parody movies at the cineplex. Scary Movie is good because it takes it's aim on a small handful of recent horror movies and then goes crazy making fun of them. The more recent parody films like Disaster Movie and Epic Movie try to cram too much into one movie. The two main targets are Scream (which was a parody itself) and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The jokes are fast and set up one after the other. There's some good running gags and some great goofy humor that you almost don't see anymore. When one of the victims is running from the killer she comes to a table in her house with a gun, handgrenade, cleaver, knife and a banana. She of course grabs the banana to protect herself. That kind of stuff just cracks me up!


The violence and gore is surprisingly minimal for a slasher flick, however it more than makes up for that in the vulgarity department. Be warned: there is quite a bit of full frontal male nudity in this silly comedy classic. Also be warned: Although Scary Movie 3 & 4 are both wonderfully hilarious and even more silly movies...Scary Movie 2 has got to be one of the worst drop off's in quality for any sequel I have ever seen!


The House Bunny (2008) [PG-13] I really like this fun flick about a Playboy Bunny who gets kicked out of the Playboy Mansion and ends up as a house mother for a rundown sorority. Anna Faris is probably one of the most gifted comedic actresses working right now and hopefully she'll take on more goofy roles in the near future. My favorite part about this movie is that it's almost a spin-off of one of my favorite shows E!'s The Girls Next Door. Hugh Hefner and the girls from the original cast of Next Door play themselves and appear in several scenes. Now that Holly, Kendra and Bridget have all gone their separate ways - this is the closest we'll ever get to a Girls Next Door movie...which would have been nothing short of fantastic!


Zero Hour! (1957) One of my all-time, Top 20 favorite movies is the 1980 comedy Airplane! which I contest is joke-for-joke hands down THE funniest movie ever made. I've seen it no less that 5,000 times. Most people don't realize that Airplane! is actually a remake of Zero Hour! a black and white disaster-style drama from the 50's. The makers of Airplane! actually bought the rights to Zero Hour! and used it as the frame work to hang zillions of corny gags on. As someone who worships Airplane! as much as I do, it was awesome to watch this older film and see where half of the jokes in Airplane! came from. Now only do they use the same exclamation point in the title, the main character in both films is named Ted Striker. The little boy that visits the cockpit is here...he's even dressed the same in both films. So much of the word play from Airplane! is clearly inspired from this movie also. Airplane! borrows and parodies a number of other films but most of it is all here in Zero Hour! Honestly, I thought it was a pretty good movie even without all the comparisons to Airplane!

If you can quote multiple scenes from Airplane! (as most men can) than you need to check out this old fashioned thriller, it will actually bring a great big smile to your face!

Give A Day. Get A Disney Day.

Yogi Watch 2010

The new year of 2010 will most likely be remembered, by me, as the year I sit and wait for the live-action Yogi Bear movie to be released on December 17. I'm soooo excited to see the movie and have Yogi Bear once again become an active participant in pop culture, yet on the other paw I'm worried that there is so much that they can get wrong with this movie there's a good chance they will disappoint me. So, we're starting a new department here at WWoB called Yogi Watch 2010 so we can keep track of all the developments with the film as they become public.

Here's what we know so far:
-The Cast Tom Cavanagh, best known for his title role in the NBC series Ed, has been cast as Ranger Smith. I like that they didn't just go for a big name star. This Cavanagh kid looks the part, I think he can pull it off.

The wonderful Anna Faris is also cast as a nature documentary film maker. Faris is a very gifted comedic actress and she'll add a little star power to the cast - I like her addition to the cast.

When I first read that Dan Aykroid and Justin Timerlake were hired to voice Yogi and Boo-Boo I almost hung myself. But then I stopped and thought...I can hear the two of these guys nailing the voices of Yogi and Boo-Boo, so if they are actually going to mimic the cartoon voices I think it will be an interesting choice. If Dan Aykroid and Justin Timerlake are just going to voice the bears with their regular speaking voices...I might considering jumping into a bear den at a local zoo in protest.

-The Director Eric Brevig directed the recent money making Journey To The Center of the Earth in 3-D, and was brought onto the Yogi Bear project when it was decided that the big screen adaptation of the two-dimensional cartoon be shot in eye-popping 3-D. I'm not sure what to make of the 3-D decision. I guess after Avatar, 3-D has a whole new appeal to everyone, so maybe it will help the movie at the box office. If Yogi Bear swings in on a rope to steal a picnic basket (and he better!) and then flies out over the audience...I'm so in!

-The Plot From the Warner Bros. press release: Jellystone Park has been losing business, so greedy Mayor Brown decides to shut it down and sell the land. That means families will no longer be able to experience the natural beauty of the outdoors -- and, even worse, Yogi and Boo Boo will be tossed out of the only home they've ever known. Faced with his biggest challenge ever, Yogi must prove that he really is "smarter than the average bear" as he and Boo Boo join forces with their old nemesis Ranger Smith to find a way to save Jellystone Park from closing forever.

Sounds promising as long as they don't have Yogi and Ranger Smith being best friends or some nonsense like that. As long as they have Yogi Bear in his green tie and porkpie hat, they are half way home!

Stay tuned to WWoB for more exciting updates from Yogi Watch 2010!

Old Malls: Harundale Mall

I love old photographs of malls. Especially when they are soaked in 1960's and 70's decor and fashion. Here's some great old pics I found online of Harundale Mall in Glen Burnie, Maryland.

I wasn't a frequent guest at this mall, but it was near my grandparent's house and then later in life I had some friends who lived near by, so I did visit the mall on more than one occasion. Harundale Mall was one of the nation's first enclosed malls and at the time of it's opening in 1958 - the only enclosed mall east of the Mississippi River. It was not a very large mall (by today's standards) but it was very grand. It had a unique layout and even when visiting it as a child in the 80's I could tell that the mall was from another era.

I remember the mall had a Horn & Horn Smogasbord Cafeteria, which were hard to come by by the time I was in high school. There was also a Polock Johnny's stand in the middle of the mall which I don't need to tell you...was some good eats!

Here's a shot of the movie theatre, which was actually a separate building in a parking lot across the street. I know I had seen a small handful of movies there but the only specific one I can remember is my mom taking my brother and I to see Back To The Future. Eventually the theatre became a second run/dollar theatre before closing. I think it's a church now!?!

I actually worked at Harundale Mall one night. One of my first jobs was with a photographer who ran the Santa Claus operations at a number of malls. I worked at a mall near my house, but one night I filled in for somebody at Harundale Mall on the night they were having Pet Photos with Santa. (I hate animals...it was an interesting night!) Another fun memory I have of the mall is the time my buddy and I were escorted out by security for trying to videotape in the mall. I didn't know you needed permission from the mall to shoot inside and I guess it didn't help matters that I was working on a school project and had a full size professional-grade TV camera with us. Ah...memories! If I remember right, we put the camera in the car and went back inside and got some Polock Johnny's.

The mall was built by James Rouse who much later went on to build the bigger and fancier Marley Station Mall right down the road from Harundale. Over time, Marley Station put Harundale and all the other malls in the area out of business. Harundale Mall hung on until 1998. The following year, Harundale Plaza debuted in the same spot as the mall with a supermarket, Outback Steak House, Hollywood Video and other boring offerings.

Classic Commercial Sunday:What Ever Happened To This Dude?

Go See The Princess and The Frog

The Princess and The Frog (2009)[G] First off, you need to go out and see this movie this weekend. Whether you've seen it already or not, you need to go to the theatre today or tomorrow and see this movie! Ya see, this is the first hand-drawn animated movie Hollywood has put out in quite a few years (The Simpsons Movie doesn't count) and Princess is getting clobbered at the box office by the shinny, hi-tech Avatar...which is largely computer animated. Now we all know that the folks in Hollywood ain't too bright and when they look at the numbers and see Avatar at $212 million and counting...and even Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 making $75 million in one week, and then they look at The Frog which has taken a month to only rack up $64 million...they are once again going to make the assumption that people only want to see CGI/computer animation and it will be another 10 years before we see a beautiful hand-drawn cartoon feature like The Princess and the Frog.


Now, is Princess as great as Disney would like you to believe? No, the film has some flaws. It follows in the footsteps of some of the greatest movies ever made like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella and Pinocchio. It also lives in the recent shadow of movies like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King - which are all beloved films that have become part of the American culture. These are all hard shoes to fill.


The Princess and the Frog is beautiful to look at. Set in New Orleans in the earlier part of the last century, the backgrounds are full of vibrant colors and rich detail while the character animation is flawless and fun to watch. Visuals alone can't carry a picture, and in the second act of this film the story starts to drag as it gets lost in the bayou. There are a handful of characters that are introduced which seem to serve no real purpose except to kill time. Some of the characters are completely forgettable, like a group of backwoods hunters who show up and still some of the other characters are really great: like Louis, an alligator with dreams of playing jazz and Raymond, a Cajun firefly who almost steals the show but again has no real purpose in the story.

The music is great and catchy and will probably add another two or three songs to the legacy of classic Disney music, but the music almost seems to fail to advance the story the way songs are used in true Disney masterpieces. The musical numbers are enjoyable and the highlight of the film, but they lack the storytelling/showstopping power of Disney tunes of the past.


With all the complaints and criticisms, I still found this to be an incredibly entertaining movie. It's just that the pieces don't quite fit together when compared to other Disney cartoon movies. It's still one of the best movies of the year. Hopefully, the talented Disney artists will have another chance real soon to make a trademark high quality picture like this one...but people need to go out and see it in the movies!!!

My Christmas Time In Movies Part 2

Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas (1999) [NR] In my opinion, one of the most overlooked Christmas movies of the season. This theatrical worthy direct-to-DVD movie is made up of three short stories each with a Christmas theme and all staring the cast of major Disney animated characters. The first story is a take-off on the Groundhog Dog idea and Huey, Dewey, and Louie end up having to celebrate Christmas day over and over again. In the middle segment, Goofy tries to prove to his son Max that Santy Claus really does exist. And finally, Mickey and Minnie star in their own version of O'Henry's The Gift of the Magi.

While this movie is brief, clocking in at just around an hour, it is a beautifully animated film considering the direct-to-DVD budget this project must have had. The film does not have the obnoxious fast and furious pace that so many animated movies do. There are several moments in the film where the soundtrack is nothing more than the characters talking. And the characters are actually given some mature roles to carry. As dumb as this might sound...and adding to the fact that these cartoon characters are in their 70's...you actually come away from this picture feeling like you know these beloved characters a little better. The Goofy segment in particular is filled with some emotional moments that really humanize the Goofy character. I always enjoy when cartoon characters are treated in a mature manor, and Once Upon A Christmas does a good job of giving Mickey and the gang more to do than run around and get hit with pies.


Ernest Saves Christmas (1989) [PG] If I haven't already decided it before, I think it's official this year that Ernest Saves Christmas (the 2nd of 9 Ernest movies) is my absolute favorite Christmas movie. It's such a well done movie with so many great little touches and a heart warming Christmasey story that I can't think of a Christmas flick I love more!

In this comedy, Santa arrives in Orlando, Florida to find his replacement. Upon his arrival at the airport, Santa meets up with cab driver Ernest. Ernest ends up getting involved in helping Santa find the new guy for the job. As I've said on numerous occasions, and I'll say it again: When you mix Ernest P. Worrell with a holiday only good things can happen! This film has it's heart in such the right place that I don't know how anyone could watch it and not at least crack a smile. And the best part about it, as with all the Ernest films, there is absolutely nothing objectionable for the kids to see. It's a great family picture. I was excited to share it with my kids this year. At first they didn't know what to make of Ernest, and let's face it - most people don't, but before long they were laughing along with this fine holiday classic!

Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) [PG] Oh...this movie is sooooo bad! This entire movie feels like such a giant poop on the grave of poor ol' Dr. Seuss. He would have hated this movie! The original animated television special of this story was the only filmed adaptation of Seuss' work that he liked - and that had to be, in part, that it stuck so closely to the book. But this live action offering adds so much unnecessary, boring, pointless shenanigans to the Grinch tale that it's just painful to watch. Jim Carey is funny as the Grinch, and he has a few really good moments but when you watch this film you gotta be wondering if everybody involved thought they were making a good movie. Seriously folks, given the choice between this movie and a sea-sick crocodile...I'd take the sea-sick crocodile!

In Sweden They Do Christmas Right

My friend Andy pointed me to this very interesting article about Donald Duck and his major role in Sweden's Christmas traditions. The article is called Nordic Quack: Sweden's Bizarre Tradition of Watching Donald Duck Cartoons on Christmas Eve. Apparently, every year on Christmas Eve the country comes to a stand still so that everybody can watch a telecast of a 1959 Christmas themed episode of Wonderful World of Disney. If you ask me, that's the way to celebrate any holiday! Read the article for all the details of this neat custom that is a sacred tradition with families in Sweden.

As a die-hard Disney fan, I was surprised that I had never heard of this ritual. I was so intrigued by it that I actually went searching on line and found a few photos related to the tradition...

Here's an authentic Swedish family sitting down at 3:00pm to watch the annual airing of Sverige, Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul.

Every year a different actor plays the role of Walt Disney and introduces the show. It's nice that even though Sweden has only had television since the late 50's they too have upgraded their broadcast system to HD.

The Ghosts of Christmas Awesome

Perhaps you caught the classic Christmas special Christmas Comes to Pac-Land on TV this weekend! No? Oh well! But check out this way cool Pac-Man flavored X-Mas tree that some chomp loving folks put together. If you wanna see it yourself you'll have to fly to Madrid...ya know, in Spain. But it's pretty darn cool, don't ya think!? After all, Pac-Man is the international sign of peace, love and Christmas cheer!

Classic Commercial Sunday - Christmas Shopping

Why do I love old department store commercials...?



This video is extra long for all of you snowed in this weekend...

My Christmas Time in Movies

I actually hadn't watched a whole lot of movies in the weeks after I got out of the hospital. As a result, the "My Week In Movies" feature hasn't appeared in a few weeks. Then in the last week or so I started picking up the pace and getting into the holiday spirit with a handful of films. I though I'd wrap up my holiday film reviews in this post and I'll cover some of the other films I've seen at a later date.

Prancer (1989) [G] I've always felt like this was my own little discovery in the world of Christmas movies. During it's initial release it got lost in the shuffle competing with The Little Mermaid. I saw it on video the following year and really enjoyed it. It's the story of a little girl who finds a lost injured reindeer which she believes is Santa's. It's a nice simple sweet story that I've always enjoyed. In 1989, who could remember the last time a live-action, non-Disney movie came out that was rated G!? I showed it to my kids the other night. Tanner fell asleep during the FBI warning. Elias was very interested in the story and really liked it, but he wouldn't fully admit that he was into it because it didn't have any superheroes or any bad guys.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) [NR] I didn't grow up watching this every year like so many other people have. In fact, I saw it for the first time last year. I really liked it, again enjoying the simplicity and sweetness of the story. It's also cool to see a film which is so mature (and maybe even sophisticated) with the basic theme of believing in Santa Claus. As with so many other films from the black and white days, Miracle is filled with wonderful performances from both the main cast and so much of the supporting cast. The new DVD and Blue-Ray release of this film contain both the original black and white version and a colorized version. I assume that the colorization process has been improved in the years since Ted Turner went crazy with his Color Machine, but didn't we as a nation decide shortly after the process began that colorizing old movies was something that just wasn't in the best interest of anyone!?


Elf (2003) [PG] I know to alot of people this is required holiday viewing each year. I was a bit disappointed when I saw Elf in the theatre six years ago, and watching it again for the first time since I have to say it's still not a really good movie. As with almost any Will Ferrell flick - there are at least a few parts where I laughed out loud...quite hard I admit. But overall, this holiday film just doesn't do it for me. I wanted the kids to see it because I thought they'd enjoy it and they did giggle and laugh at most of it. For me, this film's crowning achievement is the casting of Bob Newhart as Papa Elf. Hopefully it will be at least another six years before I get the holiday urge to see Elf again.


National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)[PG-13] I'm a huge fan of the Vacation films. It makes me feel old to realize that this holiday classic is celebrating it's 20th Anniversary this year. I can vividly remember winning tickets on the radio to a preview screening and can remember sitting in the theatre and just laughing myself silly along with everyone else. Perhaps this movie is the Christmas classic that it is because it was the first Christmas movie with a little edgier and darker humor. Anywho, I was a little disappointed when I discovered that my DVD of Christmas Vacation was not widescreen. Then I was more bummed when I checked my other Vacation DVDs and my copy of the original 1982 movie is also not in widescreen. How longer must I live in the dark ages! Heck, I don't even have a DVD of Vegas Vacation...I still have the VHS. Quickly, I added The Ultimate Vacation Collection 4-DVD set to my list for Santa. If you wanna watch Christmas Vacation filled with commercials and slightly edited - AMC is running it almost every day this month!

Early 80's Christmas Wishes

I should probably pay my mom some kind of finders fee for all the stuff she digs up in the far recesses of her home and passes on to me for fodder for this blog. Sometime ago she came across some Christmas lists that my brother and I had written to Santa Claus almost 30 years ago. (That doesn't make me feel old!) This first one is mine from 1980...

Not only did I indeed get the Charlie Brown record listed in the #1 spot, I still have the record. In fact, it's sitting on the shelf no more than 10 feet from where I'm sitting now. Good times! (I can still recite the whole thing for you if you like!) As you may know, I have a pretty good memory of my childhood and I know somewhere along the line we had a drum set and a Lite-Bright...but other than those three things I'm pretty sure not a single other item on the front of this list ever made it under my tree. There are four more items on the back side of this list (which I didn't bother to scan) and it does list a Star Wars Twin-Pod Car which I do remember having.

The next list is from the following year, 1981...

I did like me some records back in the day! Pink Panther Party Time & Smurfs All-Star Show were two records that Santa did leave for me in 1981! Sadly, both of those records have not survived over the years and that's a shame because I'd love to hear the Smurfs album again. (I'm a pink toothbrush...you're a blue toothbrush...) If I recall correctly, my brother got the Dukes of Hazzard Etch-a-Sketch set which were little plastic sheets you put over the Etch-a-Sketch screen and play games with. I'm pretty sure I ended up getting the Smurfs set, which was just as good I'm sure. Both years I asked Santa for a Mighty Mouse Punching Bag. I'm gonna assume I saw that in a Sears catalog or maybe a TV commercial because it's kind of random...but the bottom line is I never got one. I love me some Mighty Mouse though!

Who knows!? Maybe I did get some things that I just don't remember but either way we always had fun on Christmas morning and I have plenty of warm, fuzzy memories that I hope I'm creating for my children now.

12 Muppets Singing

In my opinion, the best Christmas album of all time has got to be John Denver & The Muppets: A Christmas Together from 1979. The album was accompanied by a television special the same year. The TV show has never been released on VHS or DVD. Here's a clip from the rare program featuring John Denver and The Muppets singing The Twelve Days Of Christmas. Even if you're not a Muppets fan, you've heard this song dozens of times on the radio. This TV performance features the Muppets assigned to different lines of the song than the version that appeared on the original LP. No need to worry...Miss Piggy still does Five Golden Rings:

Ernest Plugs Christmas

One of my very favorite Christmas movies is Ernest Saves Christmas from 1989. You usually don't have trouble finding it somewhere on TV every weekend in December. Here's a cool TV ad for the film, which doesn't feature any clips from the movie just Ernest doing what he does best: selling directly to Vern...

Classic Commercial Sunday - Spicy Christmas

This isn't really a classic but here's a neat advert for a British (I assume) chain of department stores. It stars the reunited Spice Girls, who at the time of this commercial had just gotten back together for a world wide reunion tour. (I went...and it was awesome!)

Letters to Santa

There's not many nice things I can say about the goshforsaken little town that we live in, but one nice thing that they do every year is have a little cabin in the town square where Santa visits with children every night of the holiday season. Sure, you could drive three more blocks up the road and visit Santa in the warm mall but there's something nice and cozy about seeing St. Nick in his own little Christmas cottage. Also, at the mall they don't let you take your own pictures of your own children with Santa (which should be a crime!) and at the cabin, even though you can buy a photo package with them...you can snap as many pictures as you like.

Anywho, the kids get a much bigger kick out of seeing Santa in his cabin than at the mall. This year I was very proud of my boys as they both wrote their own letters to Santa Claus.

Three months ago you couldn't even get Elias to write his name without wanting to put the pencil down immediately. Nowadays he spends half his free time writing words anywhere he can find the space. His favorite thing to do is grab a DVD or Wii game case and copy down the title or description. He did a good job on his letter to Santa...the scanner chopped off the right hand side of his letter.

Tanner is not even learning handwriting in school yet, but he's learned quite a bit from watching his big brother. He doesn't understand any of the structure or formatting of writing but he's got all his letters down pretty nicely. He didn't write out a list for Santa, instead he just wrote the big guy a nice greeting. He was very proud to read it to Santa. Tanner also thought it was funny to spell "We" as "Wii" instead...thanks Nintendo!

Wii Wish You A Merry Christmas

I've been a little preoccupied lately with my 13 doctors appointments a week, but I wanted to tell ya'll about a great new game that's out for the Wii. Now if you're a hard core gamer or someone who likes a real challenging video game - this is not the title for you, but if you've got kids - especially younger ones - We Wish You A Merry Christmas will probably be a big hit with your family. This fun little title creatively gets everyone in the holiday spirit. It's essentially another mini-game collection tied together by a common theme but there are some nice touches here that separate this game from the pack. There's no ultimate objective in this disc except to have fun and get in a Christmas mood.

When the game starts up you'll find yourself in a warm and cozy living room all decked out for Christmas. There's a roaring fire, a Christmas tree, and even a radio playing Christmas carols. In one section of the room, you'll find the disc's game collection. There are six different games that can be accessed, each one a slight variation on a classic video game. Deck The Halls is a puzzle game where you match 3 ornaments of the same kind on a moving grid. Hot Chocolate has players taking and filling drink orders for thirsty elves. Candy Cane Lanes is almost identical to the bowling game in Wii Sports except with a Christmas overlay and elves instead of bowling pins. In Santa's Sleigh you'll catch and deliver presents to homes on Christmas eve. Present Catch is a clever updated version of Pong and Reindeer Games (my favorite, and pictured below) lets you fly a reindeer high into the sky. The games are all easy but also addictively fun to play and can be enjoyed by even the smallest members of the house.

In addition to the games there are also a few activities. There's a place to write an electronic letter to Santa, a sticker book for creating various Christmas scenes, and Elf Hunt which is a fairly elaborate version of one of those Look and Find Books neatly adapted to the Wii. Back in the living room area of the game you can actually go in and decorate the Christmas tree, throw logs onto the fire and roast marshmallows and tune the radio to your favorite Christmas song.

I think the neatest feature of We Wish You A Merry Christmas, and the one that gives the game it's most value, is the Advent Calendar. Sitting on top of the virtual fireplace is a traditional looking Advent Calendar. Each day between December 1 and December 25 when you turn the game on you can open another door of the advent calendar and you'll get a surprise. My kids LOVE this! Everyday they can't wait to find what they'll unlock next. So far the kids have been treated to extra ornaments for the tree, new pages and stickers for the sticker book, bonus games of Elf Hunt, and even some Magic Sparkles which change the color of the fire in the fireplace. It all sounds so simple and not like something that kids who are used to using the Wii to fight the Joker or destroy the Death Star would even be interested in but when they unlock new ornaments they can't wait to zap on over to the tree and hang them. It's been a fun addition to our holiday season this year!

You should be able to find We Wish You A Merry Christmas tucked away among the more popular video games at your local game slinging establishment for about $20 bucks. It's some wholesome family entertainment and a unique way to get the kids pumped for December 25.

Rudolph's First Flight

Here's a print ad for the original airing of the classic Christmas special Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. It was first broadcast on NBC December 6, 1964 as the General Electric Fantasy Hour and has been shown on television every year since! (click to enlarge)

Happy Turkey Day!

This is a clip from a UK tele program called Family Fortunes. It's their version of Family Feud...

The Sauce of Paul Sorvino

Let's get back into the swing of things with another odd supermarket shelf find. Actor Paul Sorvino often plays mobsters and crime lords. And let's face it, we all picture mobsters as Italian guys who like to eat alot of pasta. So it makes perfect sense for Paul Sorvino to run with that stereotype and start a line of his own pasta sauce. I don't know, Paul! It's gonna have to taste at least half as good as Paul Newman's Sockarooni sauce!

Paul Sorvino Foods make two kinds of sauce and four different kinds of sausage. Now all he needs is to make the pasta too. Maybe that's a business for daughter Mira to pick up.

See Paul pitch his sauce here.

Playing Catch Up

You might have been wondering where I've been, the blog hasn't been updated in a few weeks. Wednesday November 11 I suffered a massive heart attack which almost killed me. An ambulance took me to our local hospital and after an hour or more of extreme pain I was flown to Hershey Medical Center, some 60+ miles away, where they operated on me and put a stent in my heart.

I spent five days and four nights in the hospital but I've been home now for a little over a week. Everyone that I encountered at both Hanover Hospital and Hershey Medical Center were absolutely amazing and helpful and I owe a huge thanks to everyone involved that saved my life!

You hear the term "life-changing event" tossed around quite freely, but two weeks ago I did have a life-changing event. Not only did sitting on Death's doorstep open my eyes to the way I take care of myself but hugging and kissing my children good-bye and knowing full well that it could possibly be the last time I ever see them again is an experience I will NEVER forget!

Among other (more important) things, it made me think that I might not want to return to writing this blog. But, keeping up with this silly blog is a very important creative outlet for me and it's something that I enjoy doing alot so after a brief break from it, I'm happy to return to the Wonderful World of Blog. Besides, who else is going to share with you Miley Cyrus Muffins or pictures of old Flintstones junk!?

Before all this heart attack stuff happened, I had a contest running on WWoB courtesy of the fine folks at General Mills. I didn't get the chance to promote the contest as much as I had hoped but we'd like to announce Jason as our lucky winner. He'll receive 4 free movie tickets to the flick of his choice plus a free box of General Mills cereal. You can get your free movie tickets by purchasing specially marked boxes of General Mills cereal.

And also, if you've been wondering...the only movie I've watched since the last instalment of "My Week In Movies" is Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985), which I watched on a laptop computer in my hospital room. I probably would have watched another movie or two but the TV in my room was in the wrong aspect ratio and I tried...but I just couldn't sit through a movie where everyone was all squished.

Last, regarding my hospital stay, I've already thanked people on Facebook but I want to again say thanks to my visitors (and great friends) Kevin, Mike, Amanada, Diana, Tad, Grant, Mr. Corley, Andy, and Chad. And most especially my wonderful wife, Jennifer, who made the 1 1/2 drive from our home to the hospital numerous times during my stay. I couldn't be luckier to be alive and have such an incredible family!

Pancakes on Parade

As I've mentioned before, I love food that is flavored like other food. It's like a 2-for-1 deal! When I laid my eyes on Tastykake's new Pancake Krimpets they were in my shopping cart quicker than you can say "Mrs. Butterworth!" Everyone enjoys the classic Krimpets varieties of jelly filled or butterscotch, but the thought of sinking my teeth into a pancake flavored snack cake simply sent chills up my spine. The description on the box reads: "Butter Flavored Cream Filled Sponge Cakes with Maple Syrup Flavored Icing". Yes, they are that tasty! Plus they are alot easier then frying up some cakes on the griddle. They might also be responsible for the mild heart attack I've been having all day.

Sit On This, Lincoln!

Everyone loves a good statue, but who says they all have to be dead presidents or civil war soldiers!?! Here's a handful of kooky, crazy statues around the country that you might want to visit on your next road trip!

Bob Newhart - Chicago, Il Cable outfit TV Land installed this "interactive" statue of Bob Newhart as his character Dr. Bob Hartley from the 1972 - 1978 sitcom "The Bob Newhart Show." Dr. Hartley was a Chicago psychologist so here you can lay down and tell your problems to Dr. Bob - even though he won't really help you out...because he's a statue! They originally installed this statue in front of the actual building that was used as Dr. Bob's office exterior on the show. Later, they moved to piece to Navy Pier - a major tourist attraction a mile away.

Popeye - Crystal City, TX This fine country of ours actually hosts four different Popeye statues. This one here was erected in the small Texas town that claims to be the Spinach capital of the world. I think what makes this statue extra special is the fact that it sits smack dab in front of City Hall. There's another Popeye statue in Chester, Il - the home of Popeye creator E.C. Segar. There are two more in Arkansas. But Crystal City IS the spinach capital of the world and to prove it they hold an annual Spinach Festival...which just happens to be this weekend! Get your airline tickets!

World's Largest Catsup Bottle - Collinsville, Il Another score for the great state of Illinois. The problem with any "World's Largest" is that it's not really what ever it's supposed to be the "world's largest" of...I mean, that's not a real catsup bottle - it's a water tower. Which I guess also makes it not a statue...but a water tower, so why did I even bring it up? Either way, that's a 100,000 gallon water tower which I assume means it could also hold 100,000 gallons of catsup. The way my kids use catsup on everything, we'd need one of these giant bottles of the red stuff to get us through a month! The World's Largest Catsup Bottle even has it's own website!

Superman - Metropolis, Il Clark Kent's hometown might be Smallville, but Superman belongs to Metropolis. The current version of this super structure is 15 feet tall and weighs two tons! There was an earlier version of this tribute, but everyone wanted to see if he really was the Man of Steel and destroyed the statue by throwing stuff at it. Now Superman stands tall in Metropolis' town square which they call Superman Square. The town is home to a Superman Museum, a Harrah's casino, a Huddle House (good eats!) and of course the Annual Superman Celebration.

Classic Commercial Sunday - Coffee Break

They used to do these commercials all the time where they would go to some fancy restaurant and switch out the fancy coffee with some grocery store brand and then everybody would be impressed that they didn't know the difference. Look at the beginning of this ad, it says that everyone involved received a free meal...suggesting that things might have gone different if these were actual paying customers drinking down instant coffee...


Here's a coffee ad from the days when commercials were like little movies:


and from Jim Henson:

See A Free Movie Tonight

The only thing better than a good movie is a free good movie! That's why we're pretty excited to partner up with General Mills Cereal to give you a chance to see a movie...in the theater...for free! Actually, there's two ways you can catch a movie for free. Inside specially marked packages of General Mills’ Cereals you'll find a code. When you enter two codes into the General Mills website, you'll be able to print a free movie certificate good for admission to any movie. Pretty sweet, eh!? You know General Mills cereals...Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Trix and my personal favorite Reese’s Peanut Butter Puffs.

Here's another way you can get your mitts on some free movie tix. To get the word out about their new See A Free Movie Tonight! promotion, General Mills is giving one lucky WWoB reader a Movie Moments prize package featuring Four Free Movie Tickets and a Free Coupon for a General Mills Cereal! (The movie tickets are good at almost any theatre in the country.) All you have to do is leave a comment (or send an e-mail) telling us about the first time your parents took you to the movies or the first time you took your kids to the movies. You don't have to get real creative, just a sentence or two will do. We'll pick a winner at random from all the entries received before 11:59pm Friday, November 13, 20009.

This isn't me sending you something I got out of a cereal box, folks! This is a real prize package provided by the good folks at General Mills. We're your favorite website for stuff about movies and breakfast cereals, now the two worlds are colliding. WWoB is taking a little step up in the Internet universe, how do ya like that!? Maybe now someone will listen to my idea for a Count Chocula movie!

The Juice of Miley

First it was a breakfast cereal and then it was her muffins and now Miley Cyrus takes over another portion of your balanced breakfast with her very own juice! Hannah Montana Juice is 100% juice because Miley wouldn't just lend her name to any ol' product! It has to be only the finest 100% juice for Miley Cyrus to slap her face on the bottle. This beverage comes to us from the folks at Langers, the #9 name in bottled juice!

I don't post these pictures because of some crush on Hannah Montana, I just think it's hilarious how much stuff they'll plaster her face on. Every once in a while a property will come down the pike that gets merchandised to death...I don't think New Kids on the Block, Pokemon, or Britney Spears ever had their own line of juice. Miley Cyrus is a trailblazer, folks!

Classic Commercial Sunday - Drink Up!

Here's a remarkably sexist ad from the early 70's....