Reviews You Can't Use

 

RE-POST FROM 2011


Fast Five - I know I waited too long to review this one but I don’t care. Maybe my review will sway you to rent or buy the DVD. I didn’t get my hopes up in seeing this movie since it was the fifth movie of the Fast and Furious series. I have to say I was blown away. It is the best Fast & Furious since the original. Very action packed plus it had The Rock in it and how can you go wrong with that? I gotta tell ya, if I had a vagina I would get all hot and sweaty watching Vin Diesel and The Rock (or Dwayne Johnson for all you non wresting fans) duke it out. Maybe they have a kissing scene in the movie. You won’t know until you see it.

The Hangover: Part 2 – Obviously this one can’t match what the first one had but it was still pretty funny. I think a lot of people are being too critical of it. The only thing I didn’t like is that Justin Bartha got the short end of the stick again. They must have caught him stealing the boom mic or something. I heard they are already in the process of making The Hangover: Part 3. If they try the hangover plot again then it will suck. They need to do something totally different in order to be awesome.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – Johnny Depp is always awesome in whatever he is in and you don’t have to see the first three to enjoy this one. As an added extra for the guys and lesbian, Penelope Cruz looks hot in it. See it, don’t see it, I’ll sleep at night either way.

Now what if Alan from The Hangover somehow stumbled upon The Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean? This is how I think it would play out.

Jack Sparrow finds Alan sleeping in his bed, he nudges Alan with his boot.

Jack Sparrow: What is the meaning of this? Who are you?

Alan: (mumbling in his sleep) No, mom, I want scrambie eggs, not fried.

Jack kicks him harder and Alan falls out of the bed. Alan wakes up.

Alan: What? Where am I? What did you do with Phil?

Jack: You are aboard the Black Pearl. Who’s Phil?

Alan: Phil is one of my best friends. I’ll sing the song in a minute. What did you do with my pager? What if Phil was trying to get in touch with me?

Jack: I don’t understand what you are saying. How did you get aboard my ship and into my bed?

Alan: I don’t know. All I remember from last night was there was a lot of drinking and a monkey. Why are you dressed like a pirate? Are you in some sort of play?

Jack: I’m Jack Sparrow.

Alan: Who? Do you do Disney on ice too?

Jack: I am Jack Sparrow, Captain of the Black Pearl. He pulls out his sword for emphasis.

Alan: Cool sword, do they give that to you or do you have to buy it yourself? I have my own light saber but it’s at home.

Jack: Crew, tie this idiot to the main mast.

Alan: I get to be in the show? Thanks Pete.

Jack: My name is Jack, you idiot.

Alan: Sorry, Jack, I’m not good with names.

Jack: Never mind, don’t tie him up. Just toss him overboard. I can’t take another minute of his mouth.

Alan: Way to stay in character. You are a good actor. I tried to be an actor once, I went by the name Jonathon Bobbit but everyone always laughed when I told them my name so I never got any callbacks.

Jack: Throw him overboard before I stab him to death first.

The crew lifts Alan up and prepares to throw him overboard

Jack: Any last words?

Alan: Do you have a Jack in the Box around here? I’m starving.

Jack: Throw him over

To be continued….

Find out another week what happens to Alan.

Without using the letter 'E' - Revisited

Disclaimer: I attempted to write this post back in 2010. I thought I didn't use any E's but alas a fellow blogger found 3 of them. I tinkered around with it again and believe the rest of this post does not contain the letter E. I had to use a thesaurus to find other words. The post is a bit odd and you may find it difficult to make sense of it, that is okay. Maybe read it over twice to make sure there are no E's. A few things have changed since the original post. I have a son now but his name is Ryan. I do own blu-ray players and movies.My wife also got me Darkwing Duck DVD's for Christmas one year. This will all make sense soon. Without further ado....

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I thought about writing this post on many occasions. It is difficult to brainstorm an original thought without applying that unambiguous symbol. Try it right now, think of any formation of words without that symbol. Hard, right? Now, think how hard it would occur to construct a thorough and continuous post without that symbol. I was having author's block during my brainstorming about this post. It should contain humor, random thoughts, originality, thought provoking topic, a post to talk about at an H20 apparatus and damn right phantasmagorical. I am thinking about what to concoct as I push all sorts of symbols on this plastic pad of random marks and symbols.

How about a quick nostalgic analysis?

DARKWING DUCK

I had a fancy for Darkwing Duck . That cartoon IS kick-ass. It's first affair was back in that 9th month of 1991. It ran for four minus uno occasions, from '91 to '93. Go on you know you want to sing that Darkwing song. Put your arm up high if you would want Launchpad McQuack as your trusty crony. I spot with my orbitals that most of you do. I am going to call my first son Lauchpad. What a fantastic monogram. My son would automatically turn into a pilot with that tag. I want a job as Darkwing Duck. That duck has loads of fun. I wish to own DVD's of that cartoon. My b-day is July 14th if anybody is blurry on what to buy P-Toast Man. I am not on a blu-ray wagon up to now, so only mail DVD's to my location. Who was Darkwing Duck? Did Darkwing hold similar blood with a distinct duck family? McDucks? How did Lauchpad go from that particular duck show, DuckSagas (wink wink) to Darkwing Duck? Did Launchpad attain a boot out? I fancy solutions and justification!! I miss old cartoons. Nowadays' cartoons do not stack up to particular toons of my youth. Cartoons kind of suck now. Mr. MoistPadBob StraightRhombusPants has an omission from said dumb cartoons of nowadays.

Okay that is all I got for this post. It was difficult and took a long duration. But it was fun. I might try it again. If you find any of that symbol I could not apply, point it out to muah. I await your input.

What you long to catch with your audio organs...

IHop Review Repost

I am not feeling very creative today so I am reposting something from 2010 that you probably haven't read. Enjoy.

The International House of Pancakes isn't as international as you think it would be. Locations outside of the United States only include Canada and Mexico. That is what I found when I went on their website. They will go global someday but I guess I will cross off IHop as an eating option when I travel abroad.

Nicole and I dined at the 'hop last Friday afternoon. I wish it had been my first experience there so I could give you a first time review but that will happen eventually with some other establishment.

Nicole ordered the stuffed french toast (I think, don't quote me on it) and I got the new country loaded potatoes with a side order of Nutella crepes. They looked so tasty on the menu that I couldn't resist. Let me tell you, the potatoes were out of this world, they had monterey jack and cheddar cheese, cut up bacon pieces, green peppers, onions and sour cream. I like to add a little ketchup for added flavor. Ketchup is the shit and that's how I roll. The crepes on the other hand weren't as great. The menu said (as if the menu could talk, if it could I imagine the voice of James Earl Jones) it had Nutella filling with bananas, nuts and a strawberry topping. The bananas and strawberries were delicious but there wasn't enough Nutella. I think we got gipped, I was a little disappointed, there were a few tears.

I had also ordered a new coffee they have cooked up, there were a few tasty flavors to choose from but I went with a favorite: french vanilla. The java was served in like a soup bowl and it was heavenly. I wish I had spent more time drinking the coffee than eating the Nutella-less crepes. SIDE BAR: I am reminded of the Seinfeld episode where the Dominicans that Kramer hires start working at the crepe place and they roll them too tight and everybody gets burned with hot fruit sauce. This new coffee wasn't their regular brew, it was magical and I was drinking it like it had cocaine in it (I just assume that I would be be immediately addicted, for the record I have never experience cocaine. I need to get that out for it might hurt my future presidency).

WAITRESS THOUGHTS:

Oh look, I actually got a table.... this place is like the frickin' Sahara today.

They better leave a good tip. I have such bad PMS and I will burn this mother down.

They want all that plus an order of crepes? I'm not calling 911 when they both have heart attacks.

Why is he putting ketchup on his potatoes? Does he realize that they aren't french fries? Dude, this isn't Mickey D's.

I just ripped one, do they smell it yet? I think I better check my panties.

I need a cigarette so bad. Why don't you just leave, stop stuffing your faces and leave already!!

I'm starving, I wonder what they would do if I just sat down and started to eat their food?

Looks like they're done...I'll take his plate...oh...he wants to keep it?...Why?...there are only two crumbs on it.

Is he gonna lick the plate clean? I hope not....we didn't even wash the plates.

Now he wants me to take his plate when I just asked him like 30 seconds ago...arghh! I hate my job!

If they order something I else, I will stab them both in the eye with their forks.

I bet he's gay.

Did she just pick up the check? What a cheap fucking bastard. That ring better be real or he's in trouble.

Screw it, I'm going on break, they don't pay me enough to wait on these people. I'll send the new girl over to send them on their way.

Resume review. It used to be that you would pay the cashier on your way out but we had to pay our server this time but the register is still there, WTF? And we saw somebody paying the cashier on our way in. I don't understand. This was definitely my best experience at IHop. The food was phenomenal and the new coffee is exquisite. I don't care that I probably gained 10 pounds, it was all worth it. One of the things I realized is that you really can't take breakfast leftovers home, everything is covered in syrup or ketchup. You have to be committed to eat what you get. I give IHop a full stomach. I'm making that the equivalent of 5 stars.

If you have never eaten at an IHop then you should be ashamed of yourself. Go right now, a lot of them are open 24/7. You know you want a short stack at 3 am. I want to thank Golden Girl (who is my fiance Nicole) for helping me with this post. She came up with most of the waitress thoughts.

BBQ Review

Last week Nicole graduated from the LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) program at BOCES. Now I can put her to work so I can buy that pony I never got as a kid. To celebrate, her family and I went out to dinner at a new BBQ place, American BBQ and 151 Bar & Grill. I was super excited because I don’t often go out for bbq; there aren’t many places around where I live.

This joint has a nice homey feeling and we were seated at a big comfy booth in the corner. I was salivating just looking over the menu which had a nice variety. What’s awesome is Nicole’s dad loves to eat and he usually orders a lot of food. This night was no exception. For our appetizers we started off with some corn fritters. We got two orders. The waitress said each order came with about 10 each but there had to be at least 15 in each order. I’ve had some pretty good corn fritters before but these were phenomenal. I would like to use the term melt in your mouth. I’m thinking about stopping by after work just for an order of those bad boys.

I probably don’t even need to tell you the rest of the food we got; you probably want to go just based on the corn fritters. We also got nachos but these weren’t any old nachos, they were topped with pulled pork, yes you read that right, pulled pork. I added some chipotle bbq sauce and jalapenos to the ones I ate. I might have to put some bbq sauce on my keyboard and take a bite just to get a fix right now. Oh yeah, there was also a salad bar with all the fixings but I can’t make salad sound better than it is so I will move on to the main course.

We ordered what was called the 151 Feast. It came with a smoked chicken, brisket, pulled pork, ribs and four sides that we got to pick. We chose homemade mac ‘n’ cheese, collard greens, biscuits & gravy and sweet potato tater tots (which I have never heard of or seen before). I have never had smoked chicken before this night. It had such a great flavor to it. The brisket and pulled pork were of course delicious. The ribs, oh my, the ribs, fell clean off the bone, so tender. I added bbq sauce to everything cuz I love me some bbq sauce. Nicole also got a burger that was topped with pulled pork, genius!! I’m going to put pulled pork on my cereal and see how it tastes; it seems it can be put on anything.

To wash down all this deliciousness I had a Sam Adams Summer Ale. We were so stuffed that we couldn’t fit in any dessert but we have to got back for some because they had something called fried cheesecake, intrigued? I know I am. There were so many leftovers, which is one of the best parts of eating out, right? I ate bbq for the next two days for lunch. The aroma of it cooking in the microwave was almost orgasmic.

Not only was the food out of this world but the waitress was super friendly and very attentive; it may have been because we were like the only people there. I hate tipping because I am a cheap-ass but I would of tipped extra for her (Nicole’s father picked up the tab, mmmm free food). Great service just makes the dining experience that much better. I don’t think I can think of anything I didn’t like about the place. I am definitely planning on going back again real soon. Now wipe the drool off your keyboard so you can leave me a comment regarding your jealousy.

Another IHOP Adventure

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 I feel that every IHOP should be open 24 hours because who hasn’t gotten the craving for pancakes at 3 in the morning. And since pancakes are so difficult to make I’m relieved that I can purchase them from an “International” affiliated institute.

Nicole and I went to dine at IHOP before we saw The Hangover Part 2 (which was very funny and worth seeing if you are at all wondering, maybe I will do a review of it, don’t hold me to it). If I didn't mention it in the last IHOP post, you have to try the cinnamon roll french toast or pancakes. They are delectable. Never mind if you are on a diet, use IHOP as your cheat day. Tell them Powdered Toast Man sent you, they will give you their best seat and an extra strip of bacon. There was only one waitress working at the time and these are her thoughts during the night.

Waitress' Thoughts

“I guess he can’t taste the spit in his coffee. That is 37 in a row without being caught”

“I love bacon, someone should make a bacon drink, I would buy that”

“I wonder if that woman’s boobs are real. Would she be offended if I asked?”
 “Why is it called International House of Pancakes? Are there IHOPs in other countries? Do they ship the pancake batter in from Europe?”

“If that guy doesn’t stop staring at my ass I am going to stab him in the eye with a fork”

“I should of had an abortion”

“Shovel down another sausage link you fat piece of shit”

“I’m going to put a warning in the menu that says ‘May cause diabetes’ with a picture of Wilfred Brimley’s face”

“I can’t believe I have a master’s degree and I’m serving people scrambled eggs and coffee for a living”

“I should have taken that job to do amateur porn”

“Is Bob Barker still alive?”

“All employees must wash hands before returning to work…….except me”

Wrap Review

Have you ever eaten something so delicious that you thought about it for the next few days? It recently happened to me. When something is really tasty I act like Adam Richman from Man vs. Food. I would love to have his job. Eating for a living has to be one of the coolest jobs to have. I get so hungry watching his show. I want to travel across the U.S. and eat everywhere he has eaten. I am getting a little off track here.

At Nicole's house there are usually flour tortilla wraps and I love a good wrap. Usually my expectations are high for the wraps that I make but they are never as good as I hoped they would be....until now. I will just list the ingredients and you can decide for yourself.

- Jalapeno cheddar flavored tortilla wrap
- baked chicken but into pieces
- Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce (This stuff is phenomenal and I put it on everything)
- Extra sharp cheddar cheese
- Monterey jack cheese with jalapenos
- Red peppers
- Green peppers
- Jalapeno slices

I suck at actually wrapping up the wraps, I can never get the ends to close right. I have Nicole wrap it for me because she knows the proper technique (she must have taken a wrap wrapping class or something). What's cool is that the jalapeno cheddar wrap was a little thicker than the normal ones so it didn't crack and held the same shape. It was lightly toasted in a toaster oven until it was sealed. I forget how long it was in there for but it achieved the perfect crispiness and everything was sealed in there, nothing was spilling out the sides.

Oh the first bite was so delectable. A perfect mix of cheese, spice and sweet (I am salivating on the keyboard as I type this). After eating half of it I thought about framing it in a display case for all to see and bask in its glory but that would be wasting a perfectly good wrap. I hate wasted food. How it tasted was almost orgasmic (I had to check my pants to make sure, they were a little moist). If only I could have cloned it before I ate it so that I could enjoy it again. It was by far the best wrap I had ever made. I am in the process of building a time machine so I can go back and enjoy it over and over again. I can't seem to find a flux capacitor though, anyone have one lying around?
 
As an added bonus I got to eat the other half of Nicole's wrap. Not as good as mind but still pretty tasty. Her wrap didn't have the spice mine did. I hope to make-shift another wrap in hopes it tastes the same. Wish me luck. To the Bat Kitchen!!

Speed Reviewing

I have some things to review but they each don't need their own post so I decided to review them all in one post. I call it Speed Reviewing (sort of like speed dating without the awkwardness).

McDonalds McRib - I ate this a few months ago when it was all the rage. All the cool kids were doing it so I had to jump on the bandwagon (I decided that's what I'm naming my band if the name isn't taken already). I was very disappointed. It did not taste magical at all. There were no fireworks, leprechauns or unicorns around when I took my first bite. There was barely any sauce (and I loves me some bbq sauce). For some reason there were pickles on it. Spongebob must have fallen asleep at the grill and though it was a hamburger. It tasted okay but for what I was expecting it did not satisfy. As a side note the french fries tasted old and stale.

Gentleman Jack (Jack Daniels rare whiskey) - I asked for this for Christmas from Nicole and like the obedient fiance she is, she got it for me (quite down you women's rights activists, I was only joking about the obedient part). I have always been a fan of Jack and his whiskey. Jack and coke is a combo I can always count on when I need a little liquor in my system. It came with this cool coffin-like carrying case (for the drunk on-the-go). I decided to try it straight up because I assumed that is what it is meant for. After it burned a hole in my esophagus I decided that I'm too much of a pussy to drink it straight up. I have tried it mixed with Coke, diet Coke and cherry Dr Pepper. Surprisingly the diet Coke tasted the best and was the smoothest. I didn't put a lot of Jack in it to overpower it. The Dr Pepper was the worst mix because it didn't mix. When I drank it I first tasted the soda then the Jack. You suck Dr Pepper and I bet you're not even a real doctor.

 


Blue Point Blueberry Ale - I already know what you are thinking - Blueberry beer? That's gay! That is a screwed up thing to think, shame on you all. I found this brew in Virginia Beach when Nicole and I went on vacation over the summer. I meant to write about it in my vacay posts but I never finished those so I bring it to you now. We went to a new tavern in town and they had a lot of micro brews on tap so I said what the hey. I normally don't drink beer but something inside of me yearned for it. Once I brought the mug to my face the aroma of juicy, fresh blueberries tickled my nose hairs. I was hooked from the first sip. It was delicious. It wasn't too heavy and went down nice and smooth unlike other beers I have had. After I gulped this down I made a mistake. I ordered a sampler of five other beers in shot glasses. None of them compared to the taste of the Blue Point. After the sampler I didn't want another beer. First chance I got when I got home I went in search of the Blueberry Ale. I found it at a semi-local beer distributor. I liked it the second time around but it hasn't tasted as good as the first one I had. I came to find out on the way to a friend's house that it is sold at A&P Supermarkets. Whoopee!! I thought it was an unknown micro brew. If you like blueberries then I highly recommend this ale. The aroma is stronger than the taste.


'Just the Cheese' Blog - Hilarious, awesome and buttery. That Powdered Toast Man can sure deliver some laughs. Remember that time he said 'penis'? Classic.

Okay maybe these reviews weren't as speedy as I thought they would be. Sue me. (actually please don't, i have no money nor assets, unless you count my Original Lincoln Logs)

Random question: Do you think a burger should automatically come with cheese?

FYI: Answers to this week's Trivia Corner are posted on the left sidebar.

A Movie Review, You Don't Say?

Okay so it has been waaaaaaaaaaaaay too long since I have done a movie review. You are probably wondering how long. Well I will tell you if you can just sit still and stop hitting your sister. My last movie review was May 31st!!! WTF?!?! What have I been doing? I know I have seen movie since then. I am very disappointed in myself and so should you. After this post I will sit in the corner for a timeout wearing my dunce cap. I got it from Santa, it's made of sharp cheddar, mmmmm. Now let's get this wagon train a movin'.

My sister knows that I love movies so she got me super saver movie tickets for Christmas, eight of them to be exact. She also threw in some SnoCaps, Butterfinger Bites and Goobers. She buys them in bulk so she can get a discount. I think it breaks down to like $6 or $7 a ticket which is well worth it since they rape you at the theaters. Nicole and I decided (well more my decision than hers, I kind of forced her) to see True Grit. Now before I get into the juicy details I want to start with a little negative to boil your blood a little. So essentially we have free tickets to see this movie. When we get our tickets for the movie at the window the girl tells us that they are allowed to charge a surcharge for certain movies and we owed them $3 ($1.50 per ticket for those of you struggling with the math). $3 is not a lot of dinero but it is the principle of the matter. What is the point of super saver tickets if they can charge you extra fees?!?! Fucking bullshit.This girl was a bitch too. I have gotten these tickets from my sister before and I have never run into this problem. I think this girl was making it up and was pocketing the money. Now that I got that out of my system, onto the review.

First off, I love the Coen brothers. They write and direct some awesome flicks. If you haven't seen and loved The Big Lebowski than there is something wrong with you. Right Pat? If you haven't seen the trailer or commercials for True Grit then you must be living under a rock with Patrick Star. I heard from someone that it wasn't suppose to be a remake of the 1969 True Grit starring John Wayne but it appeared to me that it was with the character names and synopsis but I haven't seen the John Wayne version so I can't be sure on that. I would assume that the John Wayne version is more westerny and not modernized like this one.

The new True Grit stars Jeff Bridges (who is full of awesomesauceness), Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld, Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper. The simple plot of the movie is the Earth is attacked by aliens on July 4th and much of the major cities get destroyed. No, that doesn't sound right. I think that is the plot of Independence Day. Wait let me think for a second, it will come to me......(playing Jeopardy music)

Ah huh, got it! Hailee Steinfeld's character Mattie hires Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) who is a tough, drunk U.S. Marshall to track down her father's murderer. Matt Damon plays a Texas Ranger named LeBouef who helps along the way. I know exactly what you are thinking. You think they should of cast Chuck Norris as the Texas Ranger since he has Texas Ranger acting experience. Well I concur with your thoughts. As much as I like Matt Damon I think Chuck would of brought some more whoop-ass to the scene. Come to think of it he could of played all the roles and directed and worked the camera all at the same time. (See previous post to learn more about Chuck Norris).

I have never seen or heard of Hailee Steinfeld before this movie. She deserves an award for her performance. She was superb. Her and Bridges were a dynamic pair. Her character is very spunky and assertive. She can light some fires under some asses. I don't think anyone else can pull off the eye patch like Jeff Bridges, not even a real pirate. I wonder if his wife asks him to wear it in the bedroom? That has to throw off your depth perception a little bit. 'Honey, you're about 3 feet from the hole.' Jeff's performance was also amazing. Coen brothers movies always have excellent dialogue. There was just the right amount of humor in this film not too make it cheesy. I would throw in some of my favorite lines but I don't want to spoil it for you. I try to tell you as little as possible so as not to ruin anything for you. A true review you can't use.

I want to see the original John Wayne version to see how this one holds up. I'm sure I will like the new one better. I'm not a big true western fan. I like westerns that aren't really westerns if you know what I mean. If you don't, it's alright, I'm special, I took the short bus to school.

I highly recommend True Grit. You kind of don't really know what is going to happen. I give it 8 out of 10 stars. It currently stands as a 8.5 on IMDB with over 6,000 votes. How can over 6,000 people be wrong? Unless we are talking about Nazis then you have to rethink what we are discussing.

There is a duck in there somewhere

 A week and a half ago on November 5th was our 3 year anniversary (Nicole and I). It also marked our one year anniversary of being engaged. The past year has just flown by. It feels like I just proposed the other day. I knew that if I didn't plan something special that I would be in trouble. Since we don't live together yet it is difficult to plan a romantic evening. I also didn't want to go to any ol' restaurant that we have been do 38 times already. I chose a restaurant that we have only been to once before (for my birthday last year, I would of blogged about this restaurant then but I didn't start my blog until after my birthday). I made reservations at The Melting Pot. It's a dining establishment where you get to cook your own lobster at your table. No, no, no, that sounds barbaric. It is actually a fondue place.

Last year there were 8 of us with only 2 fondue pots at the table so it seemed a little crowded. I figured it would make for a better experience if it was just the two of us (cue "Just the Two of Us" by Dr. Evil). And like most of the time, I was right. They seated us at Lover's Row which was a little booth with a table and ell shaped seating where you are forced with cuddle with your partner. It was very romantic. The lights were dimmed in that section and there was a single candle on the table with an anniversary card from the restaurant signed by the staff. Nice touch Melting Pot, way to earn your tips.

I'm not going to lie, the menu is a bit pricey but it's not one of those places you would go all the time anyway. We went all out and got the four course meal, cheese fondue, salads, main course and chocolate fondue. We chose the cheddar fondue with had some Swiss and other spices. That was served with apples, bread and veggies for dipping. Boy do I love me some cheese. The salads were very flavorful and delicious. For our main course fondue we had a Caribbean style oil. Nicole got the filet mignon while I chose an assortment of meat. My dish came with pork, chicken, shrimp, teriyaki steak, duck and pot stickers. The meat is served raw and your job is to throw it on a fondue fork and cook it the way you want it. Cooking time is very minimal, only need 2 minutes per slice of meat. Accompanying our dishes were more veggies (potatoes, mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus and peppers) and 5 dipping sauces (curry, ginger, teriyaki, cream cheese and some other white one).

With it only being the two of us it was a lot less crowded in the fondue pot and cooking time was quick. When it was the 8 of us last year it took forever to cook our food. I wasn't too thrilled with the duck, it had a ginger glaze and I'm not a big fan of ginger. However the teriyaki steak was delicious, I wish I had more of that. We were both pretty much full after our main course but we had to make a little room for dessert. How often do we get to eat chocolate fondue? We chose the flaming turtle which is milk chocolate, caramel and chopped pecans which was flambeed right in front of us. It was a pretty cool sight and I wish I had a picture to show you but Nicole was too slow with the camera.

For dippers we had strawberries, marshmallows coated in chocolate, cheesecake, brownies, bananas and sesame chicken....... there was no chicken (just seeing if you are still paying attention). More chocolate fondue please!!! We should of started with that. We had a tough time deciding on what chocolate fondue to get. There are so many tasty looking choices.

I recommend The Melting Pot for 2 to 4 people, any more and it seems a bit crowded. It's perfect for two people. It is definitely a different dining experience. Getting to cook your food at your table is fun and it leaves a lot of room for talking. The night doesn't go by so fast. Oh I forgot one of the best things I had. Order up a Love Martini, it is so yummy. It might be a girly drink but I don't care. It has peach schnapps, coconut rum, cranberry juice and fresh strawberries. Our bill came to about $125 including tip. At least try it once and see what you think, it may not be for everybody.

We also did something the next day for our anniversary which I will save for another post cuz this one is way too long already. I also have to talk about our anniversary presents next time. Could it be a real live pony or a banjo perhaps?

The Cheesecake Factory Review Revisited

If you are keeping track, which you're probably not, this is my 2nd Cheesecake Factory review. If you missed the first one click here. You didn't click there did you? Why not? It's either because you read it already, you're lazy or you hate me for some reason. Was it because I bought the last Justin Bieber tickets and you didn't get to go? I'm sorry, I will bake you some chocolate chip cookies and mail them out to you asap.

Nicole, her family and I went to the Cheesecake Factory 2 Sunday's ago to celebrate her dad's retirement. This is especially good for me because her parents always treat. Nothing better than a free meal. They don't let me pay, they don't accept cash, food stamps or rubles.

I am going to try and give each food item a quick review so as not to bore you. I also want to keep your attention long enough so my band of ninjas can raid your garage and/or shed.

Appetizers: (Her dad always orders more than enough appetizers)


The Bread - Warm and heavenly. No need for butter.


Sweet Corn Fritters - I don't know how the farmers grow the corn this way but it is tasty. They came with a yellowish dipping sauce. I don't know what it was. It could of been honey mustard, liquid corn sauce or pureed crayon but it was delicious.

Nachos - You figure nachos are nachos. And you'd be right. Nothing extra special about these bad boys except they came with it's own Mariachi.


Dynamite Tempura Shrimp - I ordered these for myself cuz I'm selfish like that. They were good but didn't meet up to my expectations. The waiter made them sound orgasmic. I kept lighting the tails but they wouldn't explode. Talk about your false advertising. My lawyer is filling out the paper work for the lawsuit.

Avocado Eggrolls - I'm not a big fan of avocado but these were scrumptious. These also came with a mystery sauce. I suppose I could go to the CF website and look it up but that would ruin the mystique.

Fried Calamari - I only had one so I forget what it tasted like. They usually don't have much flavor. Do you ever get worried that the suction cups are going to stick to your throat? Do calamari have suction cups or is that just squids and octopuses?

Soup of the Day: White Cheddar Broccoli - As soon as the waiter uttered the words 'white cheddar' my taste buds screamed 'get it, get it'. Nicole wanted it too so we shared a bowl. I think they were out of bowls because they served it in a mini bathtub. I must of pissed off the cook without knowing it because it was more like broccoli broccoli soup than white cheddar broccoli. The broccoli was also chopped very fine and smothered the taste of the white cheddar. I was highly disappointed as was Nicole. 

Hungry yet?

Main Course/Entree:

Pasta Carbonara - This is what Nicole ordered. I had a few bites. It was tasty but it's hard to remember how good it was because of what I had. I vaguely remember what everyone else order and it doesn't matter cuz I didn't eat anyone else's food.

Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta - My meal. Here is the description straight from their menu: Honey Glazed Chicken, Asparagus, Red and Yellow Peppers, Peas, Garlic and Onion in a Spicy Chipotle Parmesan Cream Sauce. Your mouth is watering right now isn't it? And nothing you eat in the next hour with satisfy your hunger. Oh, I wish I still had leftovers. It was deeeeeeeelicious. I made sure I ate enough to satisfy my craving but that I left enough room for dessert. Also I made sure I had a good amount of leftovers. Those lasted me 2 days. I had to fight the urge not to eat it when I got home.

 Dessert:

Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake - Nicole's brother ordered this. It looked like the Empire State Building made of chocolate. It was enormous and he ate most of it. Everyone else ordered cheesecake but I didn't sample any but my own.

Chocolate Coconut Cream Cheesecake - Coconut Cheesecake Topped with Coconut Cream Custard, all on a Chocolate Macaroon Crust. I ate every last bite (except for some cream custard) and it was delectable. And guess what? You didn't have any. Neener, neener, neener. I'm a mean son of a bitch, aren't I? I don't care that it probably had 1000 calories.

The only big downside to this dinner was that I missed the first half of the Giants game. I hope that I made you hungry, try not to slobber to much on your keyboard, saliva is hard to clean out of the keys.

Olive Garden Review

Last week for my birthday we dined at the Olive Garden. I still haven't received any birthday cards from any of you, I must have given out the address to the Powdered Toast Cave instead of the Powdered Toast House. I will clear that up later.

The nearest Olive Garden to me is somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes away depending on how fast the wagon and horses are going. Since it is not in a close proximity I don't go there as often as I would like. I can't even remember the last time I was there before my birthday but I do remember where Nicole and I sat last time (funny how my memory works).

You stay for the delicious food but you come for the warm bread sticks and homemade salad. What's best is that they are free and unlimited. A fellow blogger told me last week (I can't remember who it was) that they recycle their salad. I'm not sure what this exactly means but it's the tastiest recycled salad I have ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth.

For an appetizer I recommend the Lasagna Fritta: Parmesan-breaded lasagna pieces, fried and served over alfredo sauce, topped with parmesan cheese and marinara sauce and the Smoked Mozzarella Fonduta: Oven-baked smoked mozzarella, provolone, parmesan and romano cheese. Served with Tuscan bread. Both of them are extremely delectable and you won't be disappointed unless you don't get enough of it. Oh, I can almost taste the cheesy goodness. It's like an orgasm in your mouth, it's that good.

Every time I go to Olive Garden I have to get something that says new next to it. I am a sucker for anything new plus they are usually only around for a limited time so I am basically obligated to try it. For dinner I went surf and got the Shrimp and Crab Tortelli Romana: Shrimp, crab and smoked mozzarella-filled ravioli, topped with sautéed shrimp in a three cheese and sun-dried tomato sauce. If you are wondering if it was as scrumptious as it sounds, it was and then some. I purposely ate only half so I could have enough for leftovers the next day. Anyone hungry yet?

I am going to take your mind off food for a minute with some Chef Thoughts:

Did I remember to wash my hands after going to the bathroom? Ah, I don't care, I'm not eating this salad.

Four years at a prestigious culinary school and I'm fucking working at an Olive Garden.

That new waitress is so hot, dibbs!!

If anybody sends back food today they are getting a surprise from my nose in their order.

I hope that's poison ivy I'm scratching on my inner thigh.

Dunna nunna nunna nunna nunna nunnna nunnna nunna BATMAN!!

That fourth breakfast burrito was a bad idea.

How come they never showed Dr. Claw's face in Inspector Gadget? Or did I miss it?

I would make a hot woman.

For dessert I sampled 3 mini cake sundaes. There was a dark chocolate one with caramel, a strawberry and white chocolate and an amaretto tiramisu with almond cookie crumble. I basically had to eat all 3 by myself because everyone else was full and nobody else wanted any. I didn't care, more for me.

On top of that my mom got me an assorted cheesecake cake. There was probably 15-20 slices of all different kinds: Strawberry, blueberry. caramel, apple, cherry chocolate, and much more. Only Nicole and I like cheesecake so we got it all to ourselves. It works out when the rest of your family is picky.

Where is your nearest Olive Garden? Have you ever been? What are you waiting for, an invitation? By the way, I checked and they don't seem to have an actual olive garden on the premises. It must be at their corporate office.

Review of a Candy Bar

I am the kind of guy that loves new food products. If I see a commercial for some new cheez-it flavor or something, I have to try it. I am a sucker when I go into the grocery store and see 'NEW' on any product in big bold letters just teasing me. This is especially true for the cookie, cracker, chip or candy aisle. My ultimate weakness is a new flavor of Doritos, I have to have them.

With this said, I recently saw a commercial for a new flavor of Twix, that being Twix Java, coffee flavored if you're not hip to the lingo.



One day I searched about 4 or 5 gas stations and 2 grocery stores looking for this new magical candy bar only to come up empty and an almost broken man. I found a Triple Chocolate Twix at a 7-11 but that wasn't not what I had come for. Why would they run a commercial for a candy bar that didn't exist yet? I was puzzled and I could almost taste the coffee goodness on my tongue. I had to quit the hunt, I figured it wasn't in stores just yet.

A couple of weeks went by and I had almost forgotten about the elusive treat until the other night when I stopped by the local gas station on my way home from Nicole's at 3am. I stopped to pick up some sugar so I could make brownies the next day. I took a gander down the candy bar aisle hoping to find something intriguing when there it was right next to the Peanut Butter Twix shining in all it's glory. I jumped for joy inside my head like a little kid in a candy store. I purchased it along with the sugar and took the first bite in the car. It was worth the wait.

The coffee flavor jumps out at you and enhances the already deliciousness of the Twix. It's bold but at the same time subtle, so it doesn't over power the chocolate and caramel. I finished the second piece as I was typing this and I wish I had more. If you don't like coffee than you probably won't like Twix Java. I recommend it to all that love coffee and candy bars. My next mission is to find the new pretzel M & M's.

Retro Review: About Last Night... (1986)

I had never heard of this movie. It was on my Netflix queue and I forgot why I put it there but it was next on the list so I gave it a whirl. I decided to take a gander on IMDb to see how it was reviewed before I actually watched it. I am obsessed with IMDb, it's my favorite application on my ipod. It didn't seem that promising from what I saw on IMDb, it got a 5.8 out of 10. I wasn't going to send it back now so I popped it in to the XBOX 360 and got into movie mode.

It started off on the right track. Oh wait, before I start rambling I should tell you a little about it. It stars Rob Lowe as Danny, James Belushi as Danny's BF Bernie, Demi Moore as Danny's love interest Debbie and Elizabeth Perkins as Debbie's BF Joan. It was Edward Zwick's directorial debut. You might have seen his other work: Defiance, Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, The Siege, Courage Under Fire and my favorite Legends of the Fall. If you have not seen LOTF, I highly recommend it.

The film starts off with Danny and Bernie talking about a sexual encounter that Bernie had that involved some kinky shit. They talk about it everywhere, on the bus, at the bar, they don't care. Bernie is blatantly loud and sexually explicit and doesn't care. James Belushi plays a great 'sidekick'. James Belushi looks pretty much the same then as he does now. I like Belushi in According to Jim. Any body watch that show? I catch reruns on TBS. It's pretty funny and he has a hot wife. You know what I have come to realize? There are a lot of shows that have a chubby/fat husband and a hot wife. There is The King of Queens, According to Jim, Still Standing, and I know there are more but I can't think of them right now.

I don't want to bore you with the plot, that's not my style. These are in fact, 'reviews you can't use' so it wouldn't make sense for me to actually explain what happens in the movie. My job is to humorously tell you what I did and didn't like about the film.

If you are a guy such as myself, wait.... okay yes I am in fact a guy, I was just double checking, you will enjoy Demi Moore's sexy voice and some nudity as well. If you are female or a gay man (I don't want to leave any one out) you might enjoy Rob Lowe's bare ass. I am neither a female nor a gay man so I didn't enjoy his ass as much as I could have.

At one point, Danny and Debbie are at a diner and Danny goes behind the counter and pours his own coffee. I want to hang out at a place like that. People are too uppity nowadays and that would probably not happen.

How come when I watch movies the music and background noise are always ten times as loud as the dialogue? I always have to fiddle with the sound, turning it down and then back up and it drives me crazy!! I don't think it's just my tv because it happens at Nicole's house too.

My favorite line: "He doesn't make me sleep in the wet spot."

Most confusing line: "I feel like a fire hydrant that's been pissed on."

All in all I enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would. I think they could of cut it down a little. It did seem to drag at some points. I think About Last Night is underrated. I recommend it if you live funny love stories from the 80's, I mean who doesn't? The 80's are awesome, back me up on this one Ally.

The Invention of Lying Review

I saw Iron Man 2 yesterday but I am not going to review it. Everyone and their 'touches me inappropriately' uncle has seen it and reviewed it. I liked the movie, let's move on.

I am hear to review the underrated movie 'The Invention of Lying,' directed by Ricky Cervais. As I remember this film did not get good reviews. I remembered that I wanted to see it regardless of the reviews so I threw it on the ol' Netflix queue. I went into this movie thinking it was going to be bad or just okay. To my surprise, I thought it was fantastic. It was funny and had an original plot and idea. I normally don't discuss plots because you can read those on IMDb but I will give you a little taste.

It is about a world were lying doesn't exist. People only know how to tell the truth and be brutally honest which creates amusing lines and scenarios. Ricky Cervais' character Mark learns how to lie and is the only one that knows how to. Since nobody knows what lying is, they believe everything he says and hilarity ensues. The rest of the cast includes, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Bateman, Edward Norton, and Louis C.K.

The people that vote on IMDb gave this flick a 6.5 out of 10. I disagree with these hooligans. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It is filled with simple humor and I was actually laughing out loud. I think if I watched it with someone I would of laughed harder. Why is it that comedies are funnier when watched with other people? I love when I think a movie is going to be bad and it totally catches me off guard. I would love to share some humorous lines with you but I don't want to ruin it for anyone that is actually going to see it. There is also a love interest between Garner and Cervais.

I did not recognize Edward Norton in this movie. He has a small part as a cop that pulls over Louis C.K. for driving drunk. He has a porn 'stache and rocks an accent. When I saw his name in the credits and double back to the scene to watch it again. It was funnier when I knew it was him.

If you value my opinion at all you will see this movie and give me your honest opinion. I want to know if I am the only person to think this movie is better than the rating it got. If you see it I will give you candy.

Chili's review

First off, by a show of hands, who hasn't been to Chili's? Really, that many of you? It's like an Applebee's but better. Nicole and I dine at Chili's about once a month, it's our favorite place to eat. They have tasty food, reasonable prices and it's only a short 10/15 minute drive over to the giant red pepper.

One of the tastiest menu items are the Texas Cheese Fries which have been named the worst fries in America, not worst tasting but worst in health. These bad boys contain 1,920 calories, 147 grams of fat, and 3,580 mg of sodium but I don't care because they make my tummy monster happy and I don't want him to be angry. Even a half order has 1400 calories.

They are always running some great deals. A few months ago they had 2 for $20 which included one appetizer, two entrees and one dessert. Recently they had one appetizer and one entree for $9.99 which is similar to 2 for $20 except you swap a dessert for an appetizer. I thought 2 for $20 was the shit when they were advertising it. The only real catch is that the apps and entrees are limited to only certain menu selections but beggars can't be choosers (or another cliche/saying that fits).

One of my favorite underrated food item is the honey mustard. I use this as my dipping sauce instead of ketchup when I go out and I love the honey mustard at Chili's especially with fries. I would dip my shoes in honey mustard if those were the only 2 things I had to eat. The problem is that you can't get honey mustard in the supermarkets like they have in restaurants and diners. I don't know who is behind this mystery but I want some answers!!

Waiter's Thoughts:

I've got a turtle head poking out and I don't know if I can make it to the bathroom in time.

Why are these horses talking gibberish? I shouldn't of dropped acid on my break.

I wonder if they can tell that part of their Texas Cheese Fries order is missing? Do I have a piece of bacon on my lip?

I hope that chick I nailed last night didn't have crabs, I am so itchy.

Shit! Did he just catch me looking down her shirt?

If I don't get a good tip, I swear I will karate chop him in the neck.

I wonder what Spongebob is up to today?

I probably should be writing down their order instead of scratching my ass.

If only they knew what is really in the honey mustard.

"Life is like a hurricane, Here in Duckburg, Race cars, lasers, aeroplanes, It's a Duck-blur, Might solve a mystery, Or rewrite history, DuckTales, oooh ooooh......"


My favorite baby back rib song sung by Fat Bastard.

Retro Review: "Hey Dude"

This was one of my favorite shows growing up on Nickelodeon. It aired on July 14, 1989. Do you know why this is awesome? Because July 14th is my birthday!! (not the 1989 part, I was born in '84) I just found that out while surfing IMDb and that makes this post even more special. The series span from 1989 to 1991 spitting out 65 dusty episodes.

If you have never seen the show, it took place on a ranch called The Bar None. It was run by Mr. Ernst with fellow employees: Ted, Lucy, Brad, Melody, Danny, and son Buddy. The show's premise was that Mr. Ernst was from the country or city (I can't remember which) and knew nothing on how to run a ranch. He also looked like a big dork. The episodes consisted of the daily activities of the ranch and the different zany situations that the employees got into. Go pick Hey Dude on your Netflix or Blockbuster Queue so you can understand what I'm talking about.

Cast:

Benjamin Ernst played by David Brisbin
Most Notable Mentions: Erin Brochovich as Dr. Jaffe, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as Man in Car, Forrest Gump as Newscaster and Seinfeld as Client of puffy shirt.

Ted McGriff played by David Lascher
Most Notable Mentions: Sabrina the Teenage Witch as Josh, Clueless as Josh (TV) and Blossom as Vinnie Bonatardi.

Melody Hanson played by Christine Taylor
Most Notable Mentions: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story as Kate Veatch, Zoolander as Matilda Jeffries, The Wedding Singer as Holly, A Brady Bunch Movie/A Very Brady Sequel as Marcia Brady and Friends as Bonnie.

Danny Lightfoot played by Joe Torres
Most Notable Mentions: Hey Dude as Danny Lightfoot......that's it.

Lucy played by Debrah Kalman
Most Notable Mentions: Hey Dude as Lucy.......nothing else.

Brad Taylor played by Kelly Brown
Most Notable Mentions: Hey Dude as Brad Taylor......all I found. I thought I've seen her in something else but this is all IMDb has on her.

Buddy Ernst played by Josh Tygiel
Most Notable Mentions: Hey Dude as Buddy Ernst.........only thing he did.


My Mom got me all the episodes on some bootleg DVD's for Christmas this past year. The sound quality isn't that great and the episodes are marked wrong but it definitely took me back to my childhood. I was anywhere between 5 & 7 when I used to watch "Hey Dude." It's not quite as entertaining as it once was but it's nice to relive those memories of my youth. I love being nostalgic!

Tidbit of Trivia: The set is still up, on a Dude Ranch-turned-resort outside Tucson, Arizona called Tanque Verde Guest Ranch.

This is the only episode I could find. Enjoy.

You are just going to have to read it and find out

I am changing things up here on 'Just the Cheese' by doing something never attempted on a blog before (actually I have no idea if this is true but it sounds pretty good as an opening statement). I am going to review.... now what is it called? It's a story composed of different parts in the shape of a paper brick, there are individual sections with words and numbers on it. Wait...it's coming to me....oh yes, a book! I am going to review a book, hey you might learn something or you will just be amused, either way works for me.

I was forced to read 2001: A Space Odyssey at gun point by a crazy masked man wielding a super soaker or it may have been assigned to me by my comp & lit 2 professor. In any case I did not read it voluntarily. However it was probably one of my favorite books that I had to read for school related purposes. I was a little apprehensive because I tried watching the movie a few years ago and could not get past the first 15 minutes. Everybody in class said the movie was crazy and not very good, even the teacher but IMDb reviewers give it an 8.4. Maybe I need to give the movie a second chance now that I know what the story is suppose to be. Stanley Kubrick (the director) is pretty eccentric, I did watch A Clockwork Orange all the way through. Crazy stuff!!

Since the movie was kind of crazy or at least what I saw, I figured the book was going to be tough to follow like Wile Coyote trying to catch Road Runner (I don't know if that analogy works but I'm keeping it there). The novel was an easy read for 300 pages. Do you know why? Because Hooked on Phonics worked for me! Do they still have Hooked on Phonics?

The author, Sir Arthur C. Clarke (yeah he was knighted, take that Prince William) wrote this excellent piece of literature back in the 60's and boy was he way ahead of his time. This book is so futuristic and advanced in technologies. He wasn't that far off with what advancements we would have today, he talks about a vision phone (we had that but it failed back in the late 90's), newspad (which is described like a laptop but to only view newspapers) and a lot of other cool shiznit. However other stuff we don't have yet, like having colonies on the moon, we haven't perfected that yet......or have we?

I loved this book, I stayed up all night reading it because I had to find out what happened next, like any good book. I highly recommend this novel for those of you that do know how to read, unfortunately there are no pictures or pop-ups. The only bad thing about reading this book, is now I have to write an essay, boooooo.

Rate this review. Should I continue in the future with more books reviews? Yay or nay?

Alice in Wonderland

Nicole and I saw this bad boy this past Sunday night (I am still boycotting Friday and Saturday showings). Before I start the reviewing process I would like to get something off my chest first (no, not my fourth nipple). I usually arrive to the theater rather early so we can get the juicy seats, I like to sit about 3/4's back, middle row and center seats. Sunday night there were 2 other people in the theater before us and they were sitting all the way in the back so they weren't an issue. We took our seats and about another 10-15 people came in to watch the movie. Guess where most of them sat? They plopped down directly in front and behind us. They had the whole seating chart to choose from but they thought it would be fun to annoy the crap out of me. What possesses a person to do something like this? And don't even get me started on the dude in front and to the left texting most of the movie. I hate these kinds of people!! Ok, now that I ranted I can get on with what I started this post for.

First off I would like to say that I am a big Tim Burton fan so my standards were set a little higher going into this movie. I had taken a gander on IMDb to check out the rating it got so far, I believe it had a 7 or 7.5 out of 10. For me that is good enough of a rating to see it in theaters. I am also quite fond of Mr. Johnny Depp. The combination of Burton and Depp usually makes for some good cinematography. Add a little Helena Bonham Carter (Burton's wife if you didn't know) and you got yourself an attractive feature.

I am a little disappointed with what I saw. I liked Alice in Wonderland but I felt like something was off. It wasn't as good as I had hoped. In my opinion I think Burton should of remade the original story and then had this one as a sequel. It was like he just lumped some familiar characters together and made up his own story. Which in most cases works great for him but this movie didn't have the right flow.

This is tough, I want to give a proper review but I don't want to give too much away for those of you that haven't seen it and still wish to see it. The acting was good. I just don't think I liked the story. I should of wrote this review right after I saw the flick instead of waiting almost a week. My memory of the film isn't as clear and vivid.

I am making this movie out to seem like it is horrible but it is not. There are amusing parts don't' get me wrong. Johnny Depp shows off his dancing skills. The Chesire cat is pretty cool, I would like to be albe to vanish and float like a cloud. The characters themselves looked awesome, especially the Red Queen and her ginormous noggin. There is a doormouse armed with a sewing needle, a bandersnatch and a talking jabberwocky. Speaking of Jabberwocky, you should rent that movie, directed by Terry Gilliam. It was comical and weird rolled into one (it was WOMICAL).

I would give Alice 7 out of 10. I probably have to see it again to really judge it for what it's worth. I just feel that Burton could of done better. Maybe I should go watch Big Fish to cheer me up. I watched Batman Returns the other night, did you now that Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) is in that movie? He plays the Penguin's father. He is only in the very beginning for like 2 minutes so if you blink you might miss him.

I would wait and rent this one on DVD or BluRay but that is only my opinion. You can do whatever you want. I don't care how you spend your paycheck or Bar Mitzvah money.

Retro TV Review: Harry and the Hendersons

I have decided to try out some retro reviewing. I got this idea from Geof at ETMC. He reviewed an old movie, I decided to review an old, random tv show.

Harry and the Hendersons ran from 1991 to 1993, it aired about 40 episodes. I remember liking this show. Mainly because I was only 7 at the time and the show had a 7 foot tall Sasquatch as a main character. Things like that attract a liitle boy's attention. The show was based off the 1987 movie starring John Lithgow. I never saw the movie so I can't make any comparisons.

The show starred Bruce Davison as George Henderson (Senator Kelly in X-men) and Molly Cheek as Nancy Henderson (Jim's Mom in American Pie). Zachary Bostrom played the son Ernie and Carol-Ann Plante was Sara the daughter. I looked them up on IMDb but they haven't done much and I didn't recognize any of their other work so I didn't bother putting something that you may have seen them in. Zachary did win some young actor awards during his time on Harry and the Hendersons.

Two little nuggets I found out are that Scott Baio and Tony Dow were both Directors on the show. I don't have to tell you what Scott Baio has done. I did love Charles in Charge, good times. You may not have recognized Tony Dow's name. He starred as Wally Cleaver in Leave It To Beaver back in 1957-1963. Do you know what was one of the most controversial lines on that show? "Ward, you were really hard on the beaver last night." If you have never watched the show, Ward is the father, Beaver was the younger son's nickname and June (the mother) said that line a few times.

The show's basic premise was that the family had to always hide Harry from neighbors and people coming over. It was sort of a rip off of ALF but a 3 foot alien is easier to hide than a 7 foot Sasquatch. The show didn't do that well in the ratings and they ran out of stuff to do in the show. They tried some gimmicks but the show still flopped. I remember finding it amusing as a little kid. If I watched it now I would probably hate it. I need to find an episode on youtube or something. I wonder if they have any episodes on Netflix? I do remember the opening credits, they drove a station wagon and they were going camping when they found Harry.

This was fun to do. This show just randomly popped into my head the other day at work when I was playing some TVLand trivia with some coworkers. Next time I will have to pick a show that I remember more about. How would you rate the show?

Mega Man vs. Earthworm Jim

Today's pros and cons post is brought to you by my buddy Nippy the Penguin from Crazy Penguin Ramblings. He just started writing on his blog again and I wanted to give him a nice plug. He is still kind of new to blogging but we won't hold that against him. So after you read his guest post, go check out his cool blog. If you folks like him, I will have him back to write more stuff. BTW I love Mega Man. Enjoy!

We all Have our preferences when it comes to our beloved video game characters, so today I decided to take two of my favorite characters and pit them against one another in a Pro Vs. Con Match up to determine the Ultimate winner.

First up we have Mega Man also known as the Blue Bomber or Rockman in Japan.

Mega Man

Pros

*First off he has a friggin' laser cannon for a hand!! How cool would that be to have? And you can charge it up for those extra large jobs.

*He absorbs the abilities of his fallen foes taking in their strengths to take down others.

*Never has to age and deal with those achy joints or someone trying to sell him some damned age defying creams.

*Has a robot dog named Rush as a faithful sidekick. Imagine if he were trained like Chopper from Stand By Me, that's one helluva clamp that junkyard dog would have. Oh yeah did I mention the dog enabled you to fly?

Cons

* Cute female lead in your game is your sister and although the Japanese are freaky they aren't like our southern Hill Billies. Sorry Mega Man no robo booty for you. No amount of enemy power absorption is gonna get rid of that blue!

*Forever stuck as a child which brings us to our next con.

* Dr. Light seems to get an awful lot of joy from popping open his chassis and taking him for a spin, that poor little robo boy.

Earthworm Jim

Pros

* He has a super suit that makes him really strong , and a really big ray gun ....... sorry got caught going off into his cartoon theme song.

* Can totally use himself as a whip which has worked well in his current career as an Asexual Dominatrix.

*Has a loyal side kick named Peter Puppy and let's face it, chicks dig cute puppies.

* His suit also works as a huge storage compartment for all his gear which he currently rents out to a large group of interstellar illegal aliens. Gotta make some extra cash with no game revenue coming in.

Cons

* That cute adorable puppy we spoke of earlier goes into random roid rages on Jim whenever he gets slightly hurt, making for some interesting hospital visits especially after Jim had watched the movie Road Trip.

* Princess Whats-her-face will forever be beyond Jim's grasp. After all he is still just an earthworm but hey some chicks might be into that.

* Only 2 major games of note and no current games in development that I am aware of, which is unfortunate.

It was a long and arduous decision but I would have to go ahead and declare Mega Man the Winner. Besides where else can you find a boss character named Boomer Kawanger? This is Nippy the Penguin signing off. Until next time my fine feathered friends keep on sliding along the icy shores of life!