Washington's Holiday Lights

Before the holiday season whips by us, I must share Washington’s most famous holiday light display. Nestled amongst multi-million dollar homes in a posh DC neighborhood, one can only imagine how their neighbors must enjoy the crowds that line the streets to witness this “interesting” display every evening. What you can’t see in the photo is a decorated backyard with Santa and his reindeer, a jack-in-the-box and trees representing prayers. My favorite part was watching as people pose inside the nativity scene for a photo with the bright background.

Time to Mourn the Dunkin Donuts Guy

I have been hyper-sensitive to the ever increasing presence of ol' standby Dunkin Donuts ever since they started building one near my childhood home (construction time -- approximately 18 months!) and since noting that the directions to the Yuengling brewery use the Pottsville branch as a landmark. So I was saddened to see that Fred the Baker (aka - "Time to make the donuts" guy) passed just a few days ago. Thanks for the memories...

Festivus isn't just for TBS anymore...

Inspired by my co-blogger's explaination of why the New York City transit strike ended so abruptly ("It's a Festivus miracle!"), I thought it appropriate to post this article about a Pennsylvania town that celebrates Frank Costanza's brain-child holiday.

And did you know that there is a company in Milwaukee that sells Festivus poles? If I had only known before December 23...

Licky Licky

In our continuing series of factory and other tourist attraction tours, I recently found myself at the Ben and Jerry's factory in Waterbury, Vermont. Fortunately I didn't go to Vermont just visit B&J's, as the tour was marginally lame AND they charged $3. B&J's isn't the ice cream wonderland you'd hope it to be. There is no "make your own sundae" bar, you can't roll around in large tubs of Cherry Garcia, and you don't get to pick your own ice cream flavor to sample. Visitors are only allowed to sample a tablespoon-size serving of the two flavors of the day.

Clearly, B&J's is not in the class of the Yuengling tour. I'll blame this on the corporatization of B&J's, as it was bought by the massive food/drug/toiletry conglomerate, Unilever, a few years ago. Next thing ya know, corporatization will lead B&J's to only make vanilla ice cream.

Pimp My Nutcracker

The Internet never ceases to amaze and amuse me. During this holiday season, the Internet has yet again delivered a special gem. I hope you can visit my favorite new web site, Pimp My Nutcracker. You too can design the nutcracker that has danced in your sugar plum dreams. Print out your nutcracker creation, and sneak it into a stocking for a truly special stocking stuffer.

Jesus at work...literally

Looking for a little religion during the holidays? Not sure if you’ll find it here, but it is pretty darn funny. Be sure to visit the site it is a spoof of as well. I’m not sure which site made me laugh more.

(NOTE: I think it is important to point out that my mother introduced me to this site…and just a few minutes before we left for church today.)

Mile High Club: Problematic on a Variety of Levels

Just when you thought joining the Mile High Club might be fun and entertaining (after you spent all those years dealing your feelings of potentially touching the grossness that exists in airplane bathrooms), there is a story that will cause you to rethink your future fun. This is a story of a couple who were heard in a fit of passion in the friendly skies, and were charged the fee of diverting their plane. So next time you get Mile High dreams, either be quiet or beware.

Sodas Sodas Everywhere

Quick poll: Do you ever try the new-flavored sodas that our fine, American soda companies introduce? Do you slurp down a bottle of AMP, yet another disgusting Red Bull knock-off brewed by Pepsi? What about Sprite ReMix? And I'm not going to even start on the Thanksgiving dinner sodas recently introduced by the small Jones Soda Company. Fizzy turkey and gravy in a bottle just doesn't sound appealing.

Anyway, I ask this important question because Coke today announced they would introduce a new soda called "Blak" next year. This will be a coffee infused beverage that I'm sure will be just about as popular as the wonderously famous Pepsi Kona (as my co-blogger so sagely pointed out today). I actually tried Pepsi Kona. As a coffee and cola lover, I was disappointed when the liquid touched my tongue. I have never tasted something so disgusting.

For me, the only newish soda that's worth drinking is part of a mix concocted at Baja Fresh: Mountain Dew Code Red (actually very tasty) with a few limes and a splash of Sierra Mist...tastes just like the Sonic Cherry Limeade at Sonic Drive-Ins (which tragically are no where near the northeast). And of course, my all-time favorite is the mystery cherry soda (only labeled "cherry" on the fountain sign) at Ishkabibbles in Philly. No one makes a cherry soda any better.

This guy has a lot to say

I really don’t know what to say about this. Except that this guy loves holidays. And America. And video games. And pro-wrestling. And sports. And his favorite properties on the Monopoly game board are Boardwalk and Park Place. And he does a mean write-up of his “adventure” playing Madden on the new X-Box.

WARNING: You might want to turn the volume down on your computer before visiting Mikey’s site.

A real American hero...and IM buddy of the son of God?

A little bird pointed me in the direction of Chuck Norris’ official website the other day. (No, this is not a joke) And what a site it is! Chock full of great photos and data to “inform and inspire Chuck Norris fans all over the world”.

Of particular interest:

• Chuck Mart – Still looking for a holiday gift for that special someone? How about a poster of Mr. Norris and the full text of “Chuck’s Code of Ethics”? (“I will always be in a positive frame of mind and convey this feeling to every person that I meet.”)
• “Christian Area” – I’m not sure what this has to do with Chuck, but the page features an email from none other than Jesus himself!!! I bet they have wicked fast broadband in heaven. It is just too bad they didn't share Christ's email address with us. I guess he doesn't want to receive any spam.