Hey Everyone,

So, I have not been consistent here lately. I do have a few things on deck that I’ve been meaning to post. But, I’ve just added another project to my on going list of stuff (halfassedproductions.com , filmbacon.com ). The new project is a short little beer (and drinks & snacks) review show called “Beer:Thirty”. We’ve posted our first episode today. We’re going to try to do this weekly, but, not sure if we’ll have the time. We shot a few episodes already, but we didn’t have a name for our project when we shot it. Anyway, here’s the first episode:

So, recently, Lays had a contest to come up with new flavors for their potato chips. Three lucky people have had their flavors chosen to be the 3 finalists. The 3 flavors they came up with are Cheesy Garlic Bread, Chicken & Waffles and Sriracha. Now, Lays wants everyone to try the 3 flavors and vote for their favorite. That’s what I’m doing today! Since chip flavoring distribution is pretty random, I’ll try a minimum of 3 chips of of each bag.

First on the agenda: Cheesy Garlic Bread

I like the idea, a cheesy garlic-y chip actually sounds like it would be pretty good.
Smell: The chips themselves smell pretty much like garlic chips would.
Taste: They taste like a cheesy chip flavor that I’ve had before. I really don’t get much garlic flavor from these. These are good but not anything special. They remind me nothing of cheesy garlic bread, though.

Next: Chicken & Waffles

To be honest, this is the one I’m most looking forward to. It’s the most obscure flavor. I enjoy eating chicken and waffles, but lets see how they are in the form of a chip.
Smell: You can really smell the maple syrup and a hint of saltiness.
Taste: I can taste the syrup flavor, but not really any chicken. These basically taste like a normal salty chip dipped in syrup. I get nothing from these. Not really digging them. It’s sad, because I was really hoping for a winner here. But, I know we’ve had some winners and losers before when trying to flavor a chip with meat.

Lastly: Sriracha

For those that don’t know, Sriracha is a hot chili sauce usually found at Thai restaurants. Let’s see how this one competes.
Smell: There’s no denying that smell, these are definitely Hot Sriracha sauce.
Taste: Wow! These work really well. They’ve got quite a kick to them, but they taste very good. I don’t know how else to describe them but a hot chili pepper chip. I think we found where my vote is going.

So, I’ve decided that Sriracha is my favorite chip. But, lets see if we can make some combo flavors with these three chips and make something even better

Chicken & Waffles with Cheesy Garlic Bread: Yeah, that’s no good. 2 wrongs just don’t make a right.
Cheesy Garlic Bread with Sriracha: Okay, I think we’ve got something here. A Spicy Cheesy garlic mix. I works pretty well. This definitely enhances the Cheesy Garlic Bread Chips.
Sriracha with Chicken & Waffles: I actually think this works a little better as well. Normally, I use hot sauce when I’m eating Chicken & Waffles for real, this gives it a little better punch.

So, in wrapping up; I suggest the Sriracha chips. And the other 2 flavors can be greatly enhanced by eating them simultaneously with the Sriracha chips.

Crunch on!

- g

Hey Everyone,

I’m back with one of my favorite subjects, Beer! Today we have Budweiser Black Crown beer. According to their facebook page, it’s “a new golden amber lager with a distinctive finish”. Anheuser Busch is not new to launching a new line at Superbowl time. Seven years ago, we took a 200 mile road trip in Springfield, Missouri to pick up some “Michelob Amber Ultra” before it made it’s national debut 2 weeks later. Then a year later we drove on another 200 mile road trip to Columbia, MO to pick up some Natty Up before Super Bowl. Then of course last year Bud Light Platinum came out before Superbowl. And now this year, Budweiser Black Crown.

Finding this stuff was not as hard as finding their products in previous years. It isn’t supposed to be release nationally until February 3rd. But, I easily found it at the grocery store down the street on January 19th. A full 2 weeks early! Maybe we’re just the lucky ones. Or it may be unlucky, I haven’t tried the stuff yet.

As I’ve stated before on this site, I’m no connoisseur or anything when it comes to beer. My beer of choice is normally Bud Select, which I’m told is pretty impossible to find outside of the St. Louis area. If I’m not in St. Louis, I’ll usually stick with Bud Light. I normally don’t drink Budweiser, unless that’s all you have. However, I’m a big fan of Michelob’s line of craft beers. And I like a lot of the smaller microbreweries. Here in St. Louis there’s a couple that are really good like Schlafly & O’Fallon.

So, in the video below, you’ll see my first drink…

Perhaps I should of had more of a reaction instead of just “hmmm…” Anyway, I would say it compares to Bud Light Platinum. It’s got more kick than a regular beer does, but it’s lighter than something like Guinness. It’s very drinkable and pretty smooth considering the higher alcohol content (6.0%). I would go ahead and try it for yourself. As I said in the video, I give this a rating of 8 bottles out of 12. This is a decent beer, and I can guarantee they’ll be advertising the crap out of this stuff during the Super Bowl.

There is no Calorie or Nutrition information found on the box. But as soon as I find out, I’ll update this post.

- Greg

If you’re like me, you miss the days of MTV. The days when they’d play a bunch of videos. Now, there’s nothing like that anymore. I figured I’d put together and experimental “show”. More of a playlist with me acting as VJ in between music videos. Hope you enjoy it..

So, 2013 is here, and now we can go back to work. Sure Twinkies are gone and we’ll have to settle for Little Debbie Cloud Cakes. And there was no zombie apocalypse, no crashing planets, no killer clowns, nothing. So, we’ll have to make due with this year, 2013. What will it bring and what am I most excited about? Well, I’ll tell you.

My biggest thing I’m looking forward to is “Man of Steel”. Yes, we’re finally getting a proper Superman movie. Hell, I love the original 2 Superman Movies with Christopher Reeve. But, it’s going on 30 years ago. And the 2006 movie, Superman Returns just didn’t do it for me. It was just continuing on the movies from the 80s. My whole youth was Superman, he was my favorite superhero. From comic books to Underoos, I had everything Superman. With The Dark Knight Trilogy & all the Marvel Studio Movies, it’s time to bring Superman back. Here’s the trailer for “Man of Steel”

I’ve probably watched this trailer about 30 times. This looks like a totally different tone than the other Superman movies. Not only is Christopher Nolan on board for this baby, but so is Zack Snyder. It’s definitely got the vibe of Watchman & Dark Knight. And that’s right where I want it to be. I want Superman to have some real problems. My favorite part of this trailer is when Pa Kent tells Clark that maybe he should of let the kids die in the bus. It gives Clark Kent some depth, and the dilemma of saving lives or keeping his secret. Did I already say I can freakin wait for this?!

I’m also looking forward to the last 8 episodes of “Breaking Bad”. This is a love/hate thing. I can not wait to see how this show ends, but then again, I don’t want to see it end. I think many shows have had an “off” year here and there. But, I can safety say that this show has stayed strong sofar. And the last couple seasons have been brilliant. For those of you that haven’t seen this show. It’s about a Chemistry teacher with cancer. He doesn’t want to die without his family being taken care of. So, in order to make money to leave behind to them, he starts making Meth with the help of a former student. Along the way he has to deal with street thugs, drug lords, and his brother-in-law (who happens to work for the D.E.A.). All the seasons are available on Netflix, so get caught up, so you’re ready when this comes back this summer.

So, those are my what I’m mostly looking forward to. Other Movies I’m excited about are:

Oz: Great and Powerful – This is apparently a “Prequel” to Wizard of Oz. I know Disney attempted a 2nd movie before called “Return to Oz”. I may be one of the few people that actually like that movie. The Wheelers were some of the most creepy bad guys. Anyway, I’m hoping they do this well. I’m excited to see what Oz looks like with 2013 technology.

The Hangover: Part 3 – So, I’m sure a lot of you didn’t like the 2nd one that much. It was more of the same, but it still was funny. This one is supposed to be the conclusion and a totally new story & adventure. Lets hope it’s as original as the first Hangover.

Iron Man 3 – Have I mentioned I love comics before? Anyway, I loved what Favreau did with this franchise. Hopefully Shane Black can keep it strong. He’s worked with Downey before in “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”, which was a great movie. I’m hoping for a winner here.

Monsters University – It’s a pixar movie, do I have to say anything else? I’m so glad to get to see Mike in Sully again in this Prequel to Monsters Inc, which looks hilarious.

World War Z – I’ll be honest, I’ve had this book in my kindle library for awhile now, still haven’t had a chance to read it. But, it’s another movie with Zombies, I hope we haven’t jumped the shark with zombie movies, yet. Please! This looks good.

The World’s End – This is the 3rd movie of the “Blood & Ice Cream Trilogy” directed by Edgar Wright, written by Wright & Simon Pegg, and starring Simon Pegg & Nick Frost. The first 2 were “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”. This one is about a Pub Crawl. This trio works well together.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues – I love the first Anchorman, I’ve watched it several times and can quote many lines from the movie. I’m just hoping the bring back the magic of the first one.

Don’t worry, I’ll have a review for all those on filmbacon.com,

The Walking Dead – Read all the comics, love the series. I think season 3 has been the best season so far. And, on the mid-season finale, Tyreese has finally shown up with his zombie killing hammer!

Arrested Development – I never watched this when it was on TV, but I breezed through the show pretty quickly on Netflix. It’s an awesome show, and I’m glad it’s coming back. Of course it’s exclusive to the Netflix. But, they are putting all the episodes out at one time. They still haven’t announced an exact date yet, but it’s supposed to be “Early 2013″

So, that’s my list. What are you looking forward to this year?

- Greg

Well, Christmas has came and went. And now it’s time for me to show you the loot that I got this year. I swear this was an annual event for me. But, apparently not. I can only find that I showed off my Christmas loot in 2005 and 2006. Anyway, here’s the exciting things that some great people in got me this year.

$25 Amazon Gift Card

I think I spend more money each year at Amazon. I mean, they have everything. I would of bought all my Christmas presents for people from amazon if it weren’t for me waiting until the last minute for a couple people. Anyway, this thing has already been spent.

Masters of the Universe – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition

This baby contains every episode from the original 1980s Masters of the Universe Cartoon, the top 20 episodes of The New Adventures of He-Man from the 90s, and every episode from the 2002 remake of Masters of the Universe. It also comes with a tiny He-Man sword and a soundtrack from the original 80s series. He-Man was my favorite cartoon / toy in my youth. And, it’s fun to relive that. I was pretty surprised about getting this set.

Cabin In the Woods – Official Visual Companion

This movie just came out this year, but I can say that this ranks up there in my favorite horror movies of all time. For those that haven’t seen it, please skip over the next paragraph.

SPOILER START
So, this movie has every horror creature/monster from every horror movie. And they even have some new ones that you’ve never even thought of like a killer unicorn. This has info on every single creature, plus great glossy photos from the movie. I especially like the still shot from the office that shows the Monster betting pool board. This movie is a amazing. And, this book goes great with it.
SPOILER END

Jeans

Okay, there’s nothing really special to say about these. I don’t wear any kind of fancy pants or anything. But, I really was in need of a couple new pair. So, yeah, jeans. It’s a little more exciting than socks.

VHS to PC converter

I have a lot of VHS tapes with tons of stuff crammed on it that I’d love to share on youtube with you guys. Unfortunately, I have nothing to send the VHS to my computer. Finally, I have a solution. Actually, I did have a device that did this long ago, but it only works with Windows 7, so I haven’t been able to use it in about 5 years. So, hopefully, I’ll be able to bring you some videos from my VHS collection. woo!

Immersion Blender

My mom told me she bought me this thing 2 years ago, but couldn’t find it on Christmas 2 years ago. Well, she finally found it this year. So, lucky me I get a 2 year old Stick Blender. Now I can make some pudding.

Krustyland Shirt

Earlier this summer, we went to Orlando, FL. We went to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. My favorite part of Universal is the Simpsons Ride, and the 1000s of Simpsons Merch they have. I bought tons of stuff there, but I didn’t get a shirt. Well, now I’ve got one. So, I can look like an official tourist of KrustyLand.

The Dark Knight Trilogy

Do I really have to say anything about this? I love Batman. I have everything Batman already. But, now I’ve got the entire Nolan Batman movies on Blu-Ray. Now I am happy, because all three of these movies are brilliant and should be watched by everyone!

Forever Lazy

So, if you’re a smartass to people (like me), you’ll end up getting some smartass gifts. Like this for example, The forever Lazy. It’s funny on the box, it has people out tailgating wearing these things. I could see myself maybe wearing this at home, but I doubt I’ll ever wear it out in public. It’s complete with a zip-up flap for your butt.

Computer Stuff!

And Finally, I got some more smart ass gifts. A copy of Windows 95, MS Dos, a MS Mouse Driver, & Forms. Yes, working with computers all day long, there’s tons of these books and crap sitting around in storage when they should be in the trash. These are basically worthless. But, it is funny. Very funny, Wendy.

- Greg

I was at a Christmas Party last night at my cousin’s house. They had a pretty fun idea, to play Christmasy “Minute to Win It Games”. They were a lot of fun. Here’s the videos from the night.

Christmas Jingle

Merry Fishmas

Reindeer Nose Dive

Jingle in the Trunk

Holiday Kiss

Christmas Cliff Hanger

Christmas in the Balance

It was a good time.

- Greg

Back on December 6th, 1964 as a part of the General Electric Fantasy Hour, the Rankin Bass version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer premiered. When we see the version now, it’s edited with scenes cut to make room for more commercials. But, at the time, there was one sponsor, GE. All the “commercials” played between the show were in black & white, but they featured the elves from Rudolph. I know this has been floating around for awhile online, but I ran across this the other day on youtube. Here’s the GE commercials.

To me, these are pretty neat. I guess I’ve never used most of these items. Do people still use electric blankets? I remember my parents having one back when I was younger, sometime in the early 80s. But, I can’t recall me ever having a need for one. Also, look at that hair dryer. I’m sure it works like one of those things at a salon. But, it looks like a vacuum tube hooked to a shower cap.

The original airing of Rudolph had the song “We’re a couple of Misfits”, then the following year it was changed to “Fame and Fortune”. I noticed when I got the Rudolph soundtrack years ago that the song “We’re a couple of Misfits” on it. It sounded familiar but, I noticed it wasn’t on the tv special. When they re-released it on dvd, they added “We’re a couple of Misfits” back in. I’m not sure which song I like better, though.

Here’s Fame and Fortune:

and Here’s “We’re a couple of Misfits”

It’s the same scene, and I don’t think their mouths sync up using either song. Very Strange.

Okay, I’m getting off topic. Anyway, GE sold all their products using the Rudolph characters from Vacuum Cleaners to Waffle Irons. Here’s a few of the magazine ads from back in the 60s..

Merry Christmas, Misfits!

- Greg

I’m sure I’ve talked about Christmas Candy at least 454 times already. I don’t have exact count. But, that’s what we’ll be exploring today. With the loss of Hostess, there’s a bare rack at the coffee shop at work. It looks very sad. Instead of putting candles up or setting up an eternal flame, they opted to put Christmas Candy in it’s place.

I would say that these candies are larger than bite size or fun size, but smaller than a normal size candy bar. I think the intent of these candies are to fill a stocking. By the way, if your stockings are filled with candy near the fireplace: Make sure you remove the candy before starting a fire. Otherwise, you’ll have chocolate dripping out the toes of the stocking. It’s never welcoming on Christmas morning to reach in your stocking only to hear a chocolatey squish sound.

We’ll start with the big guy, Santa Claus. But instead of Snickers giving him they’re original flavor, they opted for Peanut Butter Snickers. That’s a strange choice to me. You’d think Santa should get top billing with the top selling Candy bar. Maybe they assume the Santa name sells itself. So, they’ll be able to get rid of some of their snickers peanut butter filling from the name alone. If you’ve never had a Peanut Butter Snickers before, they’ve replaced the caramel in the bar for peanut butter. Not as good as the original, but not as horrible as a Mary Jane. Lots of detail on this Santa, I’d say it looks better than the package art.

Next up is the Reese’s Tree. I think this is the most popular one of these candies. I know they sell a huge bag full of these things. And you can see they sell these on taste alone. I mean look at that thing. Is that really suppose to look like a Christmas tree? They’ve gotten pretty lazy. If anything, the only thing Christmas-y it looks like is Mr. Hankey. Besides that, it’s just a normal Reese’s Peanut Butter cup. How do you pronounce Reeses? I’ve always said “REE SIZ” but a friend always says “REE SEAS”. I think I’m right, and she’s wrong obviously. But, I’m sure there’s a huge debate on the internet about it, in which I’m too lazy to look up.

Ahh, Milky Way – Simply Caramel… This is one of my favorite candy bars, and they shaped it like a perfect snowman. Although, the snowman on the package has a top hat and no hands. But, the Chocolate version has a Santa hat and big gloves on. Apparently the art department didn’t talk with the chocolate mold department. Anyway, I was surprised that I didn’t see a regular Milky Way candy, perhaps they were out, or perhaps the Simply Caramel is just selling better. Who knows? Actually, I’m sure the accounting department working for Mars Inc. knows.

A Snickers Nutcracker? Yep, Snickers put their biggest brand into the lamest symbol of Christmas, a Nutcracker. Of course, I guess a “sugar plum” flavor would not be good. But, thats what would go with a Nutcracker the best, right. Oh wait, Snickers… peanuts… NUTS!!.. Ahh.. Nutcracker. That’s the connection. Anyway, the chocolate detail looks good, and I hope I don’t have to explain what a Snickers tastes like.

Lastly, I saw a Russell Stover’s box that had Christmas candy as well. So, as a bonus, I got this one as well. From the packaging, I thought it’d look like a wreath. But, their design team were too lazy to even put a hole in the middle of this wreath. Then I was hoping this thing would taste like the Samoa girl scout cookies. No, unfortunately, it doesn’t even taste like a Mounds. You know those Whitman Sampler boxes that old people always have on hand? There’s about 5% of the candy is decent in the box. Well, this “wreath” would be in the 95%. You’re better off just having this one melt in your stocking.

In conclusion, these would make great stocking stuffers and in my personal opinion, I’d stick with the Snowman & Nutcracker.

Happy Cavities!

- Greg

With the popularity of Superman in the 1940s, Paramount decided it was time for them to cash in. They hired Fleischer Studios to produce some Superman shorts. Fleischer were famous for doing 6 minute Popeye shorts are the time. Fleischer told Paramount it would cost them $100,000 a short to make them. In fact, they were able to make a Popeye cartoon for $25,000. They were hoping to price themselves out of making them, since they had so many projects going on at the time. But, Paramount came back with a counter offer of $50,000, which was twice as much as they made on a Popeye cartoon. So, they took the job.

When making the cartoons Superman’s powers only consisted of him being able to run fast, super strength, and the ability to leap 1/8th of a mile. This all looked fine in a comic book. But, when animated, it really looked silly. So, Fleischer asked permission from Detective comics for him to have the ability to fly. They agreed and the rest is history. Amazingly, he didn’t have the ability to fly until this cartoon series. That is why the intro only says “Able to leap a building in a single bound”

Recently, the Fleischer era Superman shorts have been put up on Warner Brothers youtube page. Here’s a few of them. I really think these are a lot better than similar shorts are the time. Above is the first one simply titled “Superman”.

In this short we learn that Lois Lane is a real “go-getter” as far as getting leads to her articles. They get a letter from a “Mad Scientist” who plans to use his “Electrothanasia Ray” to bring total destruction. He doesn’t say what he wants, usually bad guys want some money or something or they’ll strike. But, all his letter says is that he’ll strike at midnight. I guess he really is “Mad”. So, Lois heads off to get a story for the paper.

Lois works for the Daily Planet, but apparently has access to a plane. Not only does she have access to a plane, but she knows how to fly. Okay, I don’t remember this ever happening? When did Lois learn to fly? And actually, it could be her personal plane, they never specify. Anyway, she flys to the mad scientist’s island and knocks on his door. That was her plan? Go there and knock on the door? Was she wanting an exclusive interview or something? Was she just going to tell him to “not shoot his Electrothanasia Ray”? Apparently she didn’t plan this well.

So, she knocks on the door, the scientist immediately grabs her, ties her up and shoots his Ray gun at a bridge and destroys it. Maniacal Laugh! Maniacal Laugh! At this point, Clark Kent changes his clothes into his Superman attire. He jumps out the window just in time to see the scientist shooting the ray at a skyscraper. Superman re positions the building so it won’t collapse, then he punches the ray beam back to the gun it’s shooting out of. He captures the scientist throws him in jail. At the same time he unties Lois to save her. So, Lois gets her article, but it’s about Superman saving the day. Hooray!

I really think these shorts hold up pretty well today. And here’s a few of the other Superman shorts to check out…

Electric Earthquake

The Magnetic Telescope

Terror on the Midway

The Bulleteers

Volcano

Billion Dollar Limited

enjoy!

- Greg