Giving Thanks

I hope everyone's having a good Thanksgiving. And for those of my overseas readers, a Happy Thursday to you all!

I spent the day watching MST3K like any red-blooded American should do, and I ate too much as usual. Here's a view of the Galileo Family Spread:

Yum yum Turkey Yum. Well, that was just SOME of the turkey. The rest of it was, well, offscreen. Damn my hastily cobbled together thoughts of taking pictures for this entry!

Speaking of haste, here's a mini buffet because my Italian mom just HAD to use the entire table space for other food. From right to left we have Green Beans (ick), Corn (not in cob form), and my mom's awesome stuffed mushrooms. If the mushrooms were red, you would've been reading a heck of a traffic light joke. I'm not thankful for missing that opportunity.

See? Not red. And Blurry. They don't look like much (mostly due to said blurriness), but they are some of the best things you could eat. I don't know why people detest such a thing. They're probably communists.

Now here's the good stuff: Stuffing! Aside from the turkey, it's the most popular item on the menu. So much so that this is simply the overflow that couldn't fit in the turkey itself. So what if Alton Brown thinks "Stuffing is Evil?" It's a delicious evil. And in the upper left-hand corner? That's the traditional Americana side dish of Cranberry Sauce That's Shaped Like The Can It Came In. I'm surprised that this isn't available everywhere, it just doesn't seem like Thanksgiving without it. Again, I think the haters are communists.

Now with that crap outta the way, we come to the real reason why I'm writing this: Being Thankful. I didn't mention this before, but this was the first Thanksgiving without my beloved Grandma, who I called "Nana." She passed away two months ago, and I'm ever thankful that she was in my life as long as she was. If there was a family member who raised me when the parents were at work, gave me money for no reason, and loved and supported me whatever I did, it was her.

Yes, it's hard to experience the first holiday with a beloved family member (and we've all been there), but I got through it by overstuffing myself like I always do. She was one of those people who didn't want anyone worrying about her, and with that in mind, it was easier for me to try to move on. So far it's been working, save for the random bouts of depression.

Had I had the strength to write a long-heartfelt tribute to her when the inevitable happened, it probably would have been lovely, if not schmaltzy. As you know, I hate schmaltz and fortunately, so did she. She loved wrestling, after all! It's pretty much why I've had little patience to continue writing, but I've been getting better every passing day. December's coming up, so expect a whole slew of exciting entries!

So I'll sum up the last two months the only way I can: In 10 Words: "She died of natural causes. I'm still upset. The End."

But I don't want to end this thing on a downer. I'm thankful for each and every one of you for reading this, you people make my day with al those view counts I keep seeing. I rarely see comments...but that's okay by me. Okay, not really, but I'm still thankful!

So on this day of thanks, go re-read A Very Dennis Thanksgiving Special, and it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the traditional listen to Arlo Guthrie's seminal song "Alice's Restaurant."

Let's bring on Christmas! I'm finally ready for it!

The Greatest B-Stories from The Simpsons

Y'all should know by now that The Simpsons is my all-time favorite anything, and I've told you several times that I've seen every episode, 469 as of this writing (and hopefully the next 46 that are coming our way in the next two years). 469+ episodes that are full of comedy, satire, tragedy, or even meh-ness that have all reached some level of infamy one way or another. But out of all those stories, we rarely hear about the B-Stories.

Yes, the B-Stories, those little side-plots that are there to fill time when the writers couldn't find ways to stretch the main plot to fit the 22 minute runtime (and believe me, there have been some pretty creative ways of doing that over the last twenty-two some-odd years). Some B-Stories tell a story about what the other members of the Simpsons family are up to that may or may not connect with the main story at the end, others are about some other plot that was too thin to support an episode by itself. And some are just about Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel doing his thing.

In recent years with the average episode length becoming shorter and shorter, the B-Stories are becoming rarer and for the ones that do show up, I think their quality suffers for it. Sure, you could argue that anything the show produced in the last 10-15 years is absolute garbage (depending on how much of a curmudgeon you are), but with so little time to tell a second story on top of the limited time to tell the main story, you can tell when some plot details are unfortunately left out. For the record, some of the B-plots from the last year have been some of the worst dreck I've ever seen from this show. I mean, Lisa can't win a debate because she's a blonde and then she dyes her hair? What the hell, writers? What the hell.

But anyway, some B-Stories, however, become memorable on their own. They have the wit, humor, and satire that the show does so well, but with a shorter runtime. Most of them support their parent story quite well, and a few have actually become more well-known than the stories they were supporting.

With that in mind, I have compiled this list of what I think are The Eleven Greatest B-Stories in the history of the show. Of course, this was a rather hellish task to stack these stories in any coherent order, but I think you'll be satisfied. Or not, I still get the view-count raised every time you look at this.

#11: CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet (Das Bus)

"Ooh, they have the internet on computers now!"

That above quote pretty much sums up Homer's latest get-rich-quick scheme. While the kids are on their Model U.N. Field Trip/Lord of The Flies Parody, Homer discovers that Flanders is making money on the side from his Internet company Flancrest Enterprises. So of course to try to one-up Ned yet again, Homer decides to grab his piece of the Dot Com Bubble Pie.

What I love about this is that unlike the dozens of second-jobs that he's taken over the years, Homer has absolutely no idea about what the hell he's supposed to be doing. While Homer usually has a tenuous grasp at best at whatever job the writers assign him to that week, his idea of "The Internet" is sitting at his dining room table that's adorned with knickknacks like a Drinking Bird and stick of butter to serve as a pencil holder while coming up with a snappy name like "Flancrest Enterprises" (which was sadly taken), and the people are expected to just show up to his house and give him money.

Despite Homer's lack of computer skills, or skills in general (gotta love how he somehow made a pop-up ad that conveniently covered up a sexy picture of Captain Janeway), Homer's bubble bursts like several net businesses did back then: Being bought out by Bill Gates. Of course, being "bought out" means that Bill Gates's hired goons trash your house for seemingly no reason. But hey, Homer got a check, and Moe somehow saved the kids from The Island. Everyone wins!

#10: The Ribwich (I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can)

Authentic letter-graded meat!

I'm not just putting this B-Plot here because the McRib is currently back in the hearts and stomachs of America. Okay, maybe I am, but that's besides the point. The plot can be summed up thusly: Homer becomes addicted to Krusty Burger's equivalent to the McRib, the Ribwich, to the point where he and other junkies follow it around the country like Deadheads. It's just a sandwich made from "Authentic, letter-graded meat," so what's so addictive about it?

I say the sauce. Much like all of fast food, the meat is nothing special, but the sauce that drenches the McRib (and most likely the Ribwich) has a flavor that borders on orgasmic. It's really no surprise that each bite has Homer re-enact a certain scene from "Requiem for a Dream"

This is pretty much all I can think of whenever I see someone bite into a sandwich these days. But for all the fast food pimping it does, Homer slowly realizes that he cares more for a sandwich than for Lisa, who just happens to be a finalist in the Spellympics (not affiliated with the National Spelling Bee portion of The Olympics). But when he finds himself nowhere near the contest, he trades The Last Ribwich Ever Produced for someone's new sports car to cheer her on in time as quickly as he can. Oh by the way, it turns out that the reason why the Ribwich was discontinued was because the animal they made it from became extinct. No, not the cow or the pig. Think smaller, think more legs...

I think I'll stick to the Krusty Partially-Gelatinated Non-Dairy Gum-Based Beverage next time.

#9: Grampa Works at Krusty Burger (Lisa vs Malibu Stacy)

"Come in. Come in! Mayday! I’m losing your transmission!”

We go from one Fast Food plot to another when Grampa decides to get a job to feel young. Of course, Wal-Mart wasn't mainstream yet in season 5, so ol' Abe resorts to working at Krusty Burger and pretty much becomes a hilarious burden to the staff. In a few short minutes, we learn just how much it sucks to work at Krusty Burger: People hate you if you can't understand them, old people complain at you, your manager is a teenager, and the secret sauce is just mayonnaise left out in the sun. We also got Grampa thinking the drive-thru is a WWII-era radio, and that completely great moment where he sticks his dentures between a bun...which is then wrapped and eaten. "Damn sandwich took a bite outta me," exclaims the offscreen angry guy.

I personally think that this plot gives us one of Grampa's finest moments when he finally tells off the Squeaky Voiced Teen after realizing that his time is better spent complaining: "Mr. Peterson, you can take this job and...fill it. And one more thing: I never once washed my hands. That's your policy, not mine!" So awesome.

#8: Pray. For. Mojo. (Girly Edition)

Maybe I'll get a few more Google hits if I type the quote again...

Well, this was a weird one, but pretty memorable nonetheless. While the kids get their own news show, Homer decides to get a helper monkey of his own after seeing an injured Apu use a helper monkey to aid him in his job. Sure, having a little monkey do everything for you to further your own laziness sounds awesome on paper, but we eventually learn that Mojo is no Laddie. While The World's Best Dog could take care of himself, Homer's oafishness begins to rub off on poor Mojo after he commands the poor monkey to do nothing but fetch donuts, drink beer, and dance around for his own amusement.

Eventually he becomes a fat, beer-swilling monkey in a diaper, and Mojo gets into some pretty sad shape as well. This all leads to the most infamous portion of the story when Homer unceremoniously drops Mojo back where he got him from, and can only type out three of the most infamous words in the entire series: "Pray. For. Mojo."

Does Homer learn anything from this? Not really, but at least he practices what he preaches about weaseling out of things. If we don't remember that it's what separates man from the animals...except the weasels, why even bother?!

#7: Uniforms (Team Homer)

"Ah, these uniforms are a godsend. Horseplay is down 40%, youthful exuberance has been cut in half, high spirits are at an all-time low."

When you're a kid, you absolutely dread the possibility of your school implementing uniforms. And if you went to a school that did, you were pretty much screwed from the get-go. I'm pretty sure that the modern disdain for this practice comes from this very episode, as the uniforms literally strip the children of all personality and free will to the point where they blink in unison.

As a kid I thought that this was one of the creepiest things the show ever did outside of a Treehouse of Horror episode, especially when Nelson forgot his catchphrase. Luckily, my public school system never gave us uniforms, possibly because there was zero room in the budget for them or maybe that soulless children were thankfully too creepy for any teachers to deal with, which made it completely satisfying to me that the uniforms's effects wore off in the rain. To think this all started with Bart being influenced by MAD Magazine. Marge warned us that it was producing a dangerous amount of laughter...

#6: Adil The Sparrow (The Crepes of Wrath)

Now with its own caption!

Now this one is a little overlooked, since it appeared at the tail end of the very first season. When Bart is sent to France for the Student Exchange Program after flushing a cherry bomb down a school toilet (damn, he's gotten softer punishments for more than this in later years, hasn't he?), the family gets an Albanian boy named Adil Hoxha to live with them. Despite not being "all white with pink eyes," Adil is the complete opposite of Bart: Clean, respectful. and intelligent enough to hold his own in an argument with Lisa. So much is Adil superior to Bart that Homer and Marge actually have the gall to hang a portrait of Adil over their bed.

It's really nice to see Homer still having some kind of light on in that fishbulb of his when he breaks up Adil and Lisa's argument with stuff like "Maybe Lisa's right about America being the land of opportunity, and maybe Adil's got a point about the machinery of capitalism being oiled with the blood of the workers." It's a real nice gem that doesn't get mentioned often, and who else but Homer can say that America has its faults like that.

But what I find the most amusing about this plot is that Homer (and the rest of the family) are completely oblivious to Adil's true nature of being a communist spy known only as "The Sparrow." Yep, the reason WHY he was so inquisitive about Homer's job at the power plant wasn't much out of genuine respect as much as needing to gather nuclear secrets for his comrades back home to use against us, and I really love that. Hell, Homer is only happy to oblige Adil's every request, even promising to send him civil defense plans as he's being carted away by the FBI. It was one of the more ambitious plots in one of the first ambitious episodes so far, and it only gave us a small taste of the greatness that was to come.

#5: Lionel Hutz: Babysitter (Marge on The Lam)

"Oh sure, like lawyers work in big skyscrapers and have secretaries, and look at him, he’s wearing a belt. That’s Hollywood for you!"

See, this plot is more of a C-Story to this episode (Marge/Ruth Powers and Homer seemed to be dueling A and B stories before they dovetailed at the end), but a pretty damn funny one nonetheless. When Marge and Homer go on their respective Girl's Night Out, Homer's forced to get a babysitter for the kids ("Blast that infernal card!") and finds Lionel Hutz at their door. Of course when the shenanigans ensue, Hutz stays with the kids for a grand total of thirty-two hours to earn eight bucks, two popsicles, and an old birdcage. The number of scenes this subplot lasts for? FIVE, with each scene lasting no longer than forty-five seconds.

In just those five scenes, we learn the following details about Mr. Hutz's life: He digs around in garbage, he sleeps at the YMCA, it's implied that he's been paranoid enough to knife someone there, refers to lawyers that work in an office building as "Hollywood," and I'm pretty sure that the suit and the ratty clothes he's wearing in the episode is his entire wardrobe. But my favorite bit of the entire episode is when he burns all of his personal papers and happily declares himself as "Miguel Sanchez." Just HOW pathetic is Hutz's life when he has to resort to that? Pathetic enough to be hilarious, that's what.

In short, every single bit of this is hilarious, no moment is wasted as each scene is woven perfectly into the narrative of the main story, and each line gives us insight to one of the show's greatest side characters. It's also great to see that Homer's suggestive personality has been taken advantage of so many times that he needs to carry around a card that says "Always do the opposite of what Bart says."

#4: All You Can Eat (New Kid on The Block)

"That man ate all our shrimp, and two plastic lobsters!"

Since Homer and Gluttony go together like pie and, well, more pie, it was only natural for a writer like Conan O'Brien to sic him on the American institution that is the all-you-can-eat buffet. It's no surprise that after several hours he eats everything the Frying Dutchman could throw at him and he's kicked out before he could truly have all he could eat. Trust me, this is America. We've all been there.

"'Tis no man, 'tis a remorseless eating machine" is the only thing Capt. McAllister can say before Homer takes the Dutchman to court. Sure, it might seem silly and outlandish for some fat bastard to sue a buffet for kicking him out, but you gotta remember that this was when frivolous lawsuits were becoming the norm. And who else is there to take Homer's case but our good friend Lionel Hutz? He DID take a false advertising case against "The Neverending Story" after all, and even calls Homer "The Greatest Hero in American History" for even suggesting such a case.

There's lots of gems in the trial itself like the fake-out of dozens of bags dragged into the courtroom actually being full of letters to Santa, The Sea Captain admitting under oath that he's not a real sea captain, and of course Marge's great testimony where she collapses in tears after admitting that she and Homer went fishing at 3am after driving around all night to find another all-you-can-eat fish restaurant.

"Do these sound like the actions of a man who had ALL he can eat?" A bold statement, Mr. Hutz, and it sums up just about every red-blooded American Fatass out there (especially the ones in the jury). Did I mention that this was one of the few cases that Lionel Hutz actually WON? Granted, it settled out of court to have Homer eat at the Dutchman again as a tourist attraction, but I count it as a win.

#3: Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag (Bart Sells His Soul)

"Ah geez, and ya got the stink lines and everything."

This story is really interesting in which it's one of those "Simpsons Takes on a Topical Issue" plots, but surprisingly became more relevant as time moved on. In the FIFTEEN YEARS since the episode's debut, these dumb "family restaurants" have spread like wildfire and the show managed to satirize the whole system when the landscape only consisted of such places like Applebee's, Fuddrucker's and Bennigan's. Trust me, I'm really glad that Bennigan's is gone for good. You really weren't missing anything from that place, as it was the poor man's Applebee's...not to mention Applebee's itself being the poor man's Actual Restaurant.

Crazy crap on the walls? Bland, mass produced food? Said food having corny names? Uncle Moe skewers them all as he threw away his bar's trademark dank to attract customers who aren't Homer and Barney. It starts to go well, he's making money, getting the customers he wants, he even buys a giant fryer that can deep-fry a buffalo in 40 seconds to handle the traffic. But this is Springfield, and Moe is tossed out of his comfort zone by dealing with crap like friendly customers, bright colors, and little kids. Especially after the 80th time someone ordered Million Dollar Birthday Fries in a day.

Yes, it's impossible to talk about Uncle Moe without bringing up the Million Dollar Birthday Fries. Whoever had done the research for this episode completely nailed that stupid song that the wait staff is forced to sing whenever someone says it's their birthday.

"Uncle Moe -- thank you, ma'am! This'll be a treat: Uncle Moe! Here I am, while you eat!"

My best pal Steve and I have been highly tempted to pull off that "We're twins" thing whenever we're at an Uncle Moe's-type establishment, but so far it hasn't happened yet. Maybe it's because of that respect for waiter dignity that I've heard so much about.

But with all this, it's no wonder that Moe eventually blows his top all over an innocent little girl and her cold teef. But what I especially love about this plot is after everyone leaves after this ONE outburst, he dismantles the restaurant to return to the status quo as quickly as possible. You'd think he'd just let it blow over, but come on, he's Moe and it's bound that he'd freak out more often and more vulgar after that. This was also the time when the show would start putting all of its recurring characters into group scenes instead of generic drawings, so pretty much every important person in Springfield saw him freak out, and would most likely blab to everyone else.

But maybe I'm just thinking too deep into this. While my brain recovers for the next entry, here are some really great quotes from this B-Plot:

Homer: "Bart, you didn't finish your Spaghetti and Moe-balls!"
Homer's Brain: "Silence, you fool. It can be ours!"
Homer: (while eating) "Run, boy! Run! Run for your life, boy!"

Moe: "So, come on: I need a name that says friendly, all-American cooking."
Homer: "How about, Chairman Moe's Magic Wok?"
Barney: "I like it!"
Moe: "Mmm, nah. I want something that says people can have a nice relaxing time."
Homer: "I got it! Madman Moe's Pressure Cooker!"
Barney: "I like it!"
Moe: "Hey! How about, Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag?"
Barney: "I hate it."

Moe: "Now that's Moe like it! So bring the whole family. Mom, Dad, kids -- er, no old people. They're not covered by our insurance."

Moe: "Ooh, sorry, kid, sorry. I'm not used to the laughter of children. It cuts through me like a dentist drill. But no, no, that was funny, that was funny taking away my dignity like that, ha ha ha."

Todd: "Ow, my freaking ears!"
Maude: "Oh, let's go, dear."
Ned: "Well, I expect that type of language at Denny's, but not here!"
(everyone leaves en masse)
Moe: "Aw, come on, folks. Wait, please come back! Please, I got a new offer: whenever Uncle Moe threatens you, you get a free steak...fish."

#2: Homer's Sugar Pile (Lisa's Rival)

Read your town charter, boy. "If foodstuffs should touch the ground, said foodstuffs shall be turned over to the village idiot." Since I don't see him around, start shoveling!

Sure, it's another of Homer's Get Rich Quick Schemes, but I view this as the quintessential version of the story. Homer, ever the seeker of id, finds a sugar truck damaged on the highway and decides to take its contents for himself. It's just classic Homer for him to answer the question of "What can you do with a pile of sugar?" with "What CAN'T I do with a pile of sugar?"

It's only natural that first thing he does with his bounty is try to sell it. It's too bad that he sells his bags of sugar for three times the supermarket price (I long for the days of 35 cent/lb of sugar), not to mention said sugar is filled with "prizes" like blasting caps. And because he's out selling sugar and finding moldy dollar bills at bus stops, he lost out on a day's pay, which all leads to one of the greatest exchanges in the show's history:

Marge: The plant called and said if you don't come in tomorrow, don't bother coming in Monday.
Homer: Woo-hoo! A four-day weekend!

Homer's cluelessness knows no bounds. Seriously, that one scene must've been running in syndication ads for like 10 years. We also learned here that Homer only makes $40 a day. That's it? Even in 1995, that's a pittance for the only breadwinner to raise a family of five.

And just when things couldn't get worse, Homer's sugar pile gets raided not only by bees, but also by a random British Gent who pinched some of the stuff for his tea the second Homer lets his guard down. I just love that guy, and any of the other times the show brings in an over-the-top stereotypical character for a single gag (the Old Irish Guy comes to mind, too). Of course, just when the bees' keepers offer Homer money for the pile and the bees, the rain comes to wash the pile away and it somehow ruins the gent's tea. I love how Homer reacts to his sugar melting much like the Wicked Witch of The West, then suddenly reverts back to classic "I'm done now" mode. Only this show...

But what I find amazing about this bit is that through the magic of DVD commentaries, we learn that the entire plot was pitched beat-for-beat and nearly word-for-word in one shot by George Meyer. He's probably the second greatest writer the show's ever had, right behind the legendary John Swartwelder. Most of the cynical, depressing bits that have come from the show's great seasons can be traced back to Mr. Meyer's amazing way with words. He's the only person who could imagine Homer treating his mountain of sugar like Scarface to his precious cocaine, the British Gent I mentioned earlier, the bees "defending themselves somehow," and this awesome, awesome speech:

"Never, Marge! Never. I can't live the button-down life like you. I want it all: the terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles. Sure, I might offend a few of the bluenoses with my cocky stride and musky odors -- oh, I'll never be the darling of the so-called 'City Fathers' who cluck their tongues, stroke their beards, and talk about 'What's to be done with this Homer Simpson?'"

Combine this pinnacle of greatness with the equally solid A-Plot (written by Mike Scully and originally pitched by CONAN O'BRIEN), and you have one hell of a classic episode.

But what get's the #1 spot?

#1: Mr. Sparkle (In Marge We Trust)

"Hello? Why am I Mr. Sparkle?"

Yes, Mr. Sparkle is #1 for a very specific reason: It has become more remembered than its A-Story. I'm pretty sure most of you refer to this one as "The Mr. Sparkle Episode" rather than calling it by its actual title. Seriously, if you mention "Japan" and "The Simpsons" in the same breath, "Mr. Sparkle" will most likely appear in your mind. Hell, I was even surprised that this was the B-story when I looked up the episode when I picked up "The Complete Guide" all those years ago.

If you remember back in my Underrated Episodes entry, the main plot was about Marge becoming the Listen Lady at the church and how she deals with the crisis of faith in herself, Rev. Lovejoy, and good ol' Ned Flanders. The rest of the episode deals with Homer finding a weird box in a landfill that somehow has his face on it. After a trip to The Happy Sumo, we find out that it's a brand of dishwashing soap from Japan and it's off to the library to call up the main factory in Hokkaido. I really love that sequence where Homer is awkwardly dialing that insanely long number for the factory because he's also glancing at the librarian the entire time because Homer "promised" him that he was only making a local call.

After a hilariously awkward engrish conversation with a Mr. Sparkle representative, Homer gets a video tape where, well, I'll let it speak for itself:

The writers took every stereotype and trope of Japanese advertising and mashed it all together into a minute-long clusterfuck of imagery that's rarely been matched by anything western animation has offered in the last 25 years. And it's very, very awesome. Crap like a toy monkey helping Mr. Sparkle transform sexy women into sumos with a breeze (while underwater, I might add), a reporter asking a two-headed cow about its plans for summer...then the cow shatters into glass after looking at Mr. Sparkle, and dialogue like "I'M DISRESPECTFUL TO DIRT! CAN YOU SEE THAT I AM SERIOUS?" and "OUT OF MY WAY, ALL OF YOU. THIS IS NO PLACE FOR LOAFERS. JOIN ME OR DIE. CAN YOU DO ANY LESS?"

All being screamed at us by the great Sab Shimono. (Fans of Jackie Chan Adventures might recognize his voice as Uncle, and he's shown up in Avatar: The Last Airbender, too.)

Before I digress, it turns out that it's all a coincidence that the brave corporate logo looks like Homer, as Mr. Sparkle is simply an amalgamation of the mascots of Matsumura Fishworks (a googly-eyed fish) and Tamaribuchi Heavy Manufacturing Concern (a light bulb). In one fell swoop, America was given the word "Fishbulb" and we got a good meta joke about the shape of Homer's head.

Believe me, crap like this leaves a lasting imprint on your mind, because Mr. Sparkle's face can be found on stuff like T-shirts (which I own), posters, skateboards, boy shorts, action figures, Farmville, blinged-out race cars, a band name, a big part in The Simpsons Game, a spot in the HD Intro:

And in the minds and hearts of all who love The Simpsons.

Honorable Mentions: Happy Dude, Bart owning a factory, Homer & Lisa bonding at the Power plant, Maggie at the Ayn Rand School for Tots, Homer trying to beat Bart at Super Slugfest, Senor Ding Dong's Doorbell Fiesta, the kids thinking their parents are reverse vampires, Frostillicus and The Freak-E-Mart, Homer trying to pass Remedial Science 1-A.

Got any I missed? Comment below!

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Filling Time...

Well, the writing of a really good entry has been taking longer than I thought it would, so here's a few videos to tide you over until then:

Beaming For Bunnies Turns 200! Entries!

It's finally happened folks, the blog has officially reached its 200th entry.

This is one hell of a feat, since #100 was reached in October of 2008. In that span of time, you'll see my writing improve, then suck, then slowly improve again. Also, I got less productive as it seems. At first it was school, then my overall enthusiasm began to wane once I graduated. But the ratio of good to crap entries seems to have improved...right?!

I try my best to post at least once a week, usually late Friday/Early Saturday. It doesn't really help that my most popular days are Tuesday and Thursday for some reason.

Since that entry was pretty much a clip show of the first 100 posts...this one will be, too. So if you don't mind yet ANOTHER list entry from me, here are my favorite entries from the second 100 posts!

Beaming For Bunnies: The Essentials (Oct. 27, 2008)

Yep, the 100th entry. If you want to know which entries from the first nine months of the blog that I thought were significant enough to mention, go there!

Homestarloween Costumes (Oct. 31, 2008)

This one is a great one in my mind, poorly written as it was. It chronicled my favorite costumes from the various Homestar Runner Halloween cartoons from over the past ten years. It'll make up for the fact that the good folks over at that site didn't make one this year for whatever godforsaken reason.

A Very Dennis Thanksgiving Special (Nov. 28, 2008)

This is BY FAR one of the best things I've ever made. So far. Sure, most of the pictures are blurry, and most of the youtube videos no longer work, but it holds a very special place in my heart. I love Dennis, the little Bob-Omb character I created several years ago. After watching "Beware The Easter N***** Charlie Brown", I thought it would be really funny for Dennis and a bunch of other toys I had laying around, to do a holiday special. I'm completely serious about that one. Out of all the sources that a holiday special could arise from, I got it from a satirically racist Peanuts cartoon.

It's one of the few entries that I put some actual damn effort in. It took me at least a week to make it, and on my old compy, the process of uploading all the photos and editing them to be slightly lighter and less blurry took up a massive amount of time. Since you see that it was posted near Thanksgiving that year, I had to juggle the production of this entry with my school work AND my actual job, which was entering its busy season. The fact that I was able to post it in November was nothing short of an early Christmas miracle.

The whole reason I had Optimus just shoot El Ricardi (whose name originated from me changing Ricardo from Pee-Wee's Playhouse's name) was that I just didn't have any more patience to write an entire "History of Thanksgiving" speech and and produce the corresponding flashback, so I just had Optimus end the potential story right there. I later wrote the Optimus Christ portion of the Christmas Special to make up for it.

Another Fun Fact: I wrote Optimus Prime to match the personality of the one in the infamous "Rude Awakening of Optimus Prime" video

Because I think hearing Optimus swear like a sailor and randomly rename characters is just funny as hell.


A Very Dennis Christmas Special (Dec. 24, 2009)

Here's the sequel to the Dennis Thanksgiving Special, another entry that was made with actual effort. I actually had a set that wasn't my room for this one! Like the above post, it was a goddamn Christmas miracle that this one got done, let alone that I posted it on Christmas Eve, a time of year when no one is on the Internet!

I roughly had most of the ideas in my head as soon as I finished the Thanksgiving special, but I didn't have the time or patience to produce it until the following year. I really liked how it turned out, but sadly, it has very few views. Go read it, now!

More Fun Facts: Yeah, I had NO CLUE where the Optimus and Starscream figures I used in the previous special went, so I just had Dennis address the actor change at the end just to justify that I know that you people weren't stupid enough to not notice the difference between the actors. The house in the establishing shot isn't mine, but a house across the street from me. I lucked out immensely that there was actual snow on the ground that Christmas. Also, I pretty much said "fuck it" around the end of the special once again, and that's why the transformers didn't get gifts.

ALSO: Both specials have been reformatted to fit the new blog design, so they look much bigger and cleaner now! GO READ THEM!!

Carols For Christmas: The Good (Dec.  2008)

Carols For Christmas: The Bad (Dec. 13, 2008)

Carols For Christmas: The Ugly (Dec. 20, 2008)

These were my obligatory blog entries for Christmas songs, the Christmas equivalents of my Soundtracks For Summer entries, so to speak. The titles are self-explanatory: The first entry is good Christmas songs, the second had awful Christmas songs, and the third one had the really odd ones.

WARNING: Lots of the videos from the entries don't work anymore. Damn lawyerbots.

Haunts For Halloween (Oct. 16, 2009)
More Haunts For Halloween (Oct. 31, 2009)

Since the 100th post somehow left out Haunts For Halloween, the Halloween version of Soundtracks For Summer, it's only fitting that #200 covered it along with its sequel. Like the Summer and Christmas versions, these entry listed songs that remind me of Halloween. Like the previous entry, many of the videos may not work any more.

The Soundtracks For Summer Series
Vacation (June 18, 2009)
I'm on A Boat (July 12, 2009)
School's Out (July 21, 2009)
Walk The Dinosaur (July 30, 2009)
Tequila (Aug. 16, 2009)
Holiday Road (June 21, 2010)
Wanderlust King (July 5, 2010)
Red Red Wine (July 19, 2010)
Margaritaville (July 31, 2010)
Paradise City (Aug. 13, 2010)
Beach Boys Tribute (Sept. 3, 2010)

As I've said before, I'm a really big fan of my now-yearly summer series "Soundtracks For Summer," a series of short little love letters to songs that define "summer." In the two years since post #100, I since expanded the series to twenty entries as of this writing!

Like the previous two entries, Some videos might not work. Damn.

HI, BILLY MAYS HERE...WAIT, NO I'M NOT! (June 28, 2009)

My tribute to the late, great Billy Mays. I'll never be able to pitch my idea of the Billy Mays Alarm Clock now...

The 10 Worst Kirby Abilities (Jan. 25, 2009)

This one is really popular, not surprisngly among the Kirby fans out there. I put "Copy" from Kirby Super Star at #1, and I don't regret it one bit.

The Better Know a Christmas Series
Japan (Dec. 15, 2009)
Sweden (Dec. 16, 2009)
Great Britain (Dec. 27, 2009)

This was a series of entries that I really hope to continue this year. I love Christmas, and I love reading about how Christmas is celebrated around the world. So I made it my job to educate my fellow readers that America aint the only place that celebrates the hell outta Christmas. Japan's is probably my favorite so far, what with KFC and Annual Gift Man and all, but I've only just begun!


The 10 Geekiest Musical Instruments (April 21st, 2010)

I REALLY love this one, but this sadly has not gotten any response whatsoever. It makes me sad.

My 15 Favorite Conan O'Brien Characters (Jan. 22, 2010)

To commemorate the triumphant return of Conan O'Brien to the airwaves, let's revisit my entry that showcased my favorite characters from his two talk shows, shall we? I think it's pretty obvious who #1 is, but I'd like you all to read it again. And again. And again.

13 Underrated Simpsons Episodes (Feb. 16, 2010)

My Favorite Simpsons Episodes (July 9, 2010)

My Least Favorite Simpsons Episodes (July 15, 2010)

We end here with some of my most popular posts: The Simpsons entries! Really, the entries speak for themselves: My choices for Underrated, Favorite, and Least Favorite episodes. But I loved writing them, and I certainly hope to write more, like that "Best B-Stories" entry I keep teasing you about.

I'd like to thank everyone who believed in me this whole time! We made it to 200, baby! We're halfway there!

By the way, what were YOUR favorite entries?

The McRib is Back!

The four greatest words in the fast food language. I couldn't believe it myself when I found out that THE MCRIB WAS COMING BACK! What is the McRib, you ask? You are a mighty pinhead to be asking such an inane question.

Well, okay, you're not. You're not mighty at all. The McRib, as a whole, is the "Bigfoot" of fast food lore, achieving a cult status that arose from its rarity. Much like the In-N-Out Secret Menu, Herb from Burger King, and Pepsi Blue, some people just plain doubt their existence, but none of them have achieved the level of infamy that is the McRib. But being serious and all, there have been a surprisingly large amount of people that I've run into that...DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE MCRIB WAS!

To educate you all, I'll offer up the McRib's delectable life story from the most reputable source I could find: The McRib's Wikipedia Page:

The sandwich was originally created by McDonalds employee Derek Plowman. The only thing that hasn't changed from the original sandwich is Derek's BBQ sauce. test-marketed very well in Nebraska and other Midwestern markets and was added to the restaurant's permanent menu throughout the United States in 1981. Sales were mediocre,^{[citation needed]} and it was removed in 1985 after several years, only to be brought back as a limited time offering.

So you see class, the only reason why the McRib is popular in the first place is only because The Suits at McDonald's just takes it away from us whenever we start to get sick of it, then brings it back whenever we say to ourselves "Hmm, I haven't had a McRib in a while." Then everyone goes into a frenzy, then they take it away again to start the process anew.

Were it not for the underground tribunal that consists of The Grimace, HR Pufnstuff, the Corpse of Colonel Sanders, Hillary Clinton and the San Diego Chicken, the McRib would've joined Fast Food Obscurity much like the Arch Deluxe, Wendy's SuperBar, and a less-creepy version of The Burger King.

But thankfully, this proved to not be the case. The last time that the McRib was distributed nationwide was in 1993-94 as promotion for the live-action Flintstones Movie, and has been seen in various parts of the country up until 2008 after the conclusion of its third Farewell Tour. Yep, the McRib is not only the Bigfoot of fast food, it also has the Rolling Stones' concert promoter!

The newswires kept saying it was coming back November 2nd, but last Friday I found this sign on my local McDonald's:

YES, LONG ISLAND GOT IT EARLY!!! Okay, it's from the link I posted a few paragraphs ago, but it was on the sign and I had to check it out for myself! (Also, I tried to get a good shot of mine. I tried. But nighttime glare is the only thing that sucks about my phone's awesome camera.)

That night I sauntered into my local haunt to look the girl (at least I think it was a girl) behind the counter in her(?) eyes and told her "I want a McRib this time, baby." Five grueling McRib-less minutes later, and this appeared on my tray:

"Your Old Friend is Back." Pretty much says it all, doesn't it? Let's open up the box and ogle at the contents, shall we?

Ooh, that's a sandwich! But here's a better view of the goodness inside the bun:

To you, this might be sickening, but to me, it's sweet, tangy goodness. Sure, it's authentic letter-graded meat pressed into the shape of a small rack of ribs, but they exist and it went into my mouth, dammit!

My Verdict: Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it's orgasmic. Well, let's let this Simpsons clip speak for what I'm talking about:



So good, you can almost imagine that everyone is mirror-flipped and speaking spanish! (Yeah, it's the only vid out there that DOESN'T have an annoying music track over it. But, still.)

Yeah, it's not "real" barbecue and we can all name about 10 different places besides our own home that can make a better and/or healthier sandwich, but it's good! It tastes just like pulled pork, smothered in a special BBQ sauce that ISN'T the classic McNuggets dipping sauce.

As a whole, it's a pretty good sandwich and like most of McDs offerings, it's easy to get sick of it. It could explain WHY there's such a frenzy that pretty much justified my thesis statement back at the beginning: It's a good sandwich that makes your taste buds go through horrible withdrawals within 24 hours of eating one. And after 16 years, that withdrawal could very well develop into a bloodlust, or at least a slight jonesing whenever you hear the word "McRib."

I heartily recommend trying it if you can manage to find it before it goes nationwide on the 2nd. As for me? I'm blogging from a McDs right now. Oop, my next McRib's ready! Gotta go, gang!

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Summer Burger Challenge: Results Edition!

Well folks, Summer seems to have come to an end. I know so because, much like Punxatawney Phil, I caught Jerry Lewis attempt his annual warbling on "You'll Never Walk Alone" on my TV box back during Labor Day. And since then, the air had started to get chillier, then unusually warmer, then chillier again.

With this in mind, along with the fact that the temperature dropped a solid 20 degrees in a single day, I think it's high time I post my results of my long-awaited Summer Burger Challenge.

If you remember waaaay back in this entry, I told you that the challenge involved me going around to burger joints that were exclusive to Long Island. It's just to give you, my loyal readers, a taste of the regional delights that can be found here. But I'll tell you right away that there were a few...cheats that I'll get into when I get to them. Let's begin!

Our first entry is from Frank-N-Burger, a little hole-in-the wall burger joint on Route 25 in St. James. It might not seem like it in the picture, but this thing was pretty damn big as far as normal burgers go. That big pink thing spilling out under all the lettuce? That's ham, baby, and it's the only burger place on the entire list where you can get it as a topping. So, in essence, you can actually eat a Ham Hamburger.

My verdict: It's Good! The ham made the overall taste seem a bit off, but that's ham for you. It's been a while since I had this one, but I thought the burger was pretty good & juicy. You'll have to visit for yourself, which I highly recommend.

By the way, you'll see a recurring theme here with pickles. I never really warmed up to pickles until about last year, and even now I still can't stand them on burgers. I personally think it adds a rubbery, salty texture that shouldn't be in the way of my chewy burger, so I just take them off the burger and eat them at my leisure. Case in point: this pickle slice was pretty thick, and while it tasted like an average pickle slice would, I didn't want that damn thing on my burger.

This little beauty comes from a place called All-American Drive-In that sits on Merrick Road in Massapequa. A Long Island institution, this thing has been standing around since the 1950s. It's roughly around the same age as McDonald's, except this place never sold out or significantly raised their prices since the place opened.

Sadly, I didn't take an exterior shot, but here's one that I did find on the place's Facebook Page:

The place sells the regular fast food fare: Burgers, Fries, Onion Rings, and Knishes. Like I said above, they're pretty damn cheap. Seriously, the most expensive thing on the menu is an order of fried butterfly shrimp for $5.25, followed by a Quarter Pound burger with cheese at $2.55! They also have Krusty Partially-gelatinated Non-dairy Gum-based Beverage, I mean shakes that only run you $1.65. Hell, getting the typical meal of Burger/Fries/Drink will run you under eight dollars, and that's pretty much awesome in this economy.

My Verdict: As I said above, it's like McDonald's if they never sold out, so it's pretty good for what it is: A cheap fast-food burger joint. It's miles above any typical fast food chain, but far from the best burger in the challenge.

The last of the Long Island exclusives is from American Roadside Burger, which can be found on East Main Street in Smithtown. They have a special burger called the "Roadstar," which is a 4-patty burger that, when eaten, gets your name on the wall. As the double cheeseburger pictured above is average size for a burger with two patties, this is not a difficult feat to pull off as the walls are literally covered with names. Hell, I've done it and it's not so bad. There are entire little league teams on the wall for god's sake!

This brings me to My Verdict: Awesome. They're tender, juicy, and the toppings compliment the burger instead of overpower it like a bunch of other places do it. They offer a great sauce that they refer to as "Pink." What's that, you ask? I didn't know, but one of the nice folks there told me that it was a combo of ketchup, mayo, and Worcestershire sauce. I gotta say, it tasted awesome and definitely gave the burger an extra oomph of flavor. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Check that place out, yo.

This burger is from Bobby's Burger Palace, whose only location on Long Island is in the SmithHaven Mall in Lake Grove. Before I go any further, the mall was named for the fact that it's bringing the towns of Smithtown and Brookhaven together, yet it's technically in Lake Grove. That's like a football team saying that they represent New York, but play in New Jersey! That would be silly.

But back on track, there are only FIVE of these things around, with the only NY location being where I said it was. Two of them are in New Jersey, one's in western Philadelphia, and the other one's in Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. I don't know WHY that part of Long Island was chosen, but here we are. Yep, we're heading into the Franchises now.

The burger shown above is the Dallas Burger, which consists of a spice-crusted patty, bbq sauce, Monterey Jack cheese (Cheese? CHEEEEESE?!), and coleslaw. Of course, this is Overinflated Ego Chef Bobby Flay we're talking about, so every ingredient has to be the best it can be, as hot as it can be, and as expensive as it can be. Seriously, the burger is not that big, and it alone runs you $7.50. However, it also happens the be the only burger place on here that sells beer. But, like everything else, it's overpriced.

My Verdict: Bobby got lucky, this burger is GOOD. Good meat, good ingredients, good fries, but too expensive for what you get. There's great selection of sauces, though.

Any of those are good, especially the Chipotle Ketchup. But I don't recommend trying the sauce they give you for the fries. I can't really put my finger on what it tasted like, but I didn't like it that much.

Remember when I said there were a few cheats? Well, this is one of them. Behold: Fatburger! I included this one because they USED to be on Long Island, but they disappeared from here a little less than a year ago for some reason. This one was hit on my vacation to Atlantic City. It's located in the Borgata casino, where it's open 24 hours!

My Verdict: PRETTY DAMN GOOD. While the burger looks small, you can get bigger sizes than this. Either way, very awesome taste and I shake my fist at Fatburger for moving out of Long Island! I really wish I didn't have to go that far for good burgers! By the way, this is also the only burger chain that offers a fried egg for a topping, along with selling steak fries! Those things are equally as great.

This here is the other cheat. This is from Johnny Rockets, a 50's-style sit-down Burger joint usually found near tourist traps. Again, I got this one on my trip to Atlantic City. BUT, with an uppercase and emboldened "B," there ARE Johnny Rockets in the NY/Long Island area. The closest ones to me are in the Tanger Outlets in Deer Park, and in the food court of the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City. (BTW, awesome mall. It's Long Island's Mall of America, but not as big!)

Keeping with the 50's theme, the entire restaurant is sparkling white, much like America in the 50s itself if stuff like Leave it To Beaver, I Love Lucy, and 50s Nostalgia Cafes lead you to believe. And there are awesome old-fashioned jukeboxes at every booth and every place seems to have its own "song" that the staff are required to dance to, should someone shell out the nickel to play it. As I mentioned here before, the one in Cedar Point was "Love Shack." The one in Atlantic City had "Stayin' Alive," and the one in the Tangers had a few girls sing and dance to "Respect."

They also decorate a cup or plate with a smiley face made out of ketchup, so there's that.

My Verdict: It tastes nearly diner-quality, but it's nowhere near as greasy as you would think it is. So, in a sense, it's pretty awesome. Not the BEST thing ever, but it's only because of the awesome competition that I'll get to in a moment. But also worth mentioning are awesome milkshakes (Strawberry Banana FTW), and the fact that they refill your fries! Let me reiterate that: ALL YOU CAN EAT FRIES. And they're freaking good!

Here we have a burger from Cheeburger Cheeburger, found in Farmingdale and other places around the country. If you're thinking about that old SNL sketch where everyone keeps saying "cheeseburger cheeseburger, no coke, pepsi," then get out of my head. But in all honesty yes, they named the restaurant after the sketch, pepsi and all. The Pepsi there? With shots of vanilla? To die for. By the way, Johnny Rockets does that, too, and they're also to die for.

The theme here? Much like Johnny Rockets, it's a 50s/Early 60's Burger Joint, and they go all-out with it. The music, the crap on the walls, even black people have to eat in their own separate section. Okay, I'm seriously joking about that part. But unlike Johnny Rocket's sparkling white Everything, there's lots of little nostalgic tidbits everywhere! Lots of old ads, Elvis memorabilia, and 50's neon to make your eyes bleed! Also of note is the fact that while you're waiting for your food, they got stacks of trivia cards at every table, so you can impress your date by proving how better you are than her with your memory of obscure facts from yesteryear.

But before I move on to the burger, I gotta talk about the shakes. Oh yes, there are shakes here. While Johnny Rockets up above has a good selection of many staple milkshake flavors, Cheeburger Cheeburger prides itself with having 75 flavors. I need to repeat that number in bold on its own: 75 flavors. Sure, they count "Strawberry" "Banana" and "Strawberry Banana" as separate flavors, but hey, you gotta love having the option of having all three at once or in separate shakes. Not only does it stop there, but you can combine any and all of those flavors into some unholy mikshakey concoction. The menu itself claims there's over 378,000 combinations. (What, 378 thousand?! But that's impossible!!)

I got a lot of catching up to do, folks. Suffice to say, they're pretty awesome. You got the milk, you got the shakes, and you got tiny little marshmallow-sized ice cream chunks in the mix, too. Definitely recommend it.

My Verdict: Well, see that fork and knife in that picture above? You're gonna need them. While I'm strongly against the notion of people eating burgers with utensils and acting like their nose is 5 feet above my eyebrows, the burger tends to fall apart. The thing is quite juicy, sure, but it's also kind of dry at the same time with lots of good ol' burger grease to help it slide into your stomach and blood vessels. It's a good thing you get your choice of an assload of toppings, because they improve the taste of the already good burger.

The burger in the pic has my default toppings of lettuce, raw onions, pickles, coleslaw and ketchup, but they also got 20 other toppings along with eight kinds of cheeses to satisfy your dairy fancy. The more whacked-out toppings include Worcestershire sauce, artichoke hearts and peanut butter. I've always wondered what peanut butter on a cheeseburger would taste like, but I figured that my taste buds would forcibly tear themselves off my tongue before the burger even hit them. With all the choices, I keep wondering why they don't offer fried eggs like Fatburger does, but I guess they just want to be "those guys" and be against the burger topping train.

Sure, this one's not from Long Island, but rather Midtown Manhattan, but checking out The Shake Shack was too good to pass up. A Manhattan landmark since its opening in 2004, there are only six locations in the entire country (with two more on the way), with 4 of them in Manhattan itself. There's one in Citifield (ugh, the Mets), and the other is in Miami for some reason.

After opening in Madison Square Park (unlike Madison Square Garden, there's an actual garden there), it became well-known for its burger and shakes, not to mention its long lines. Yes, no matter which Shake Shack you go to, there will be a line out the door, regardless of the time of day. Fortunately, if you want to know just how popular the flagship location is, the main site has a webcam that gives the tubes a 24 hour broadcast of its line. Who knows how many people there are now? Maybe there's a dancing taco or some bears doing aerobics? Anything can happen in Manhattan, and no one will even bat an eye.

Let's get to the food. You can imagine a place called "The Shake Shack" would have good milkshakes, right? YES. By far the best strawberry milkshake I've ever had, and this comes from someone who loved Johnny Rockets and Cheeburger's and is a frequent drinker of Friendly's Fribbles. Sure, it's five bucks for what is essentially a small, but you have to remember that everything edible is two dollars more expensive in New York City, even the penny candy. That stuff is surprisingly overpriced there.

My Verdict: VERY good-quality burger. Like I said, it's jacked up in the city, so it SEEMS expensive at $5 a pop, but it, the shake, and the fries (which are pretty good, but nothing to cheer about) are completely worth waiting a half-hour for the deal that you're getting.

Last but not least, we come to Five Guys. These guys have places all around the country, and there's a simple reason why: THEY'RE AWESOME. Yes my readers, I saved the best for last. This is most likely the best fast food-like burger you'll ever have outside of your local mom & pop burger joint or even your own home.

Just look at that picture, isn't that the sexiest burger you've ever laid eyes on? I should know, because I've been to five of them in the LI/NYC/NJ metro area multiple times at various points around the summer and they have yet to disappoint me. Sure, the folks there give me dirty looks for attempting unspeakably dirty acts of eroticism around their burgers, but it's nothing they haven't seen before.

A few things you should know about this place: The default size is the double cheeseburger (pictured above), so if you choose the "Mini Burger," you'll just get a single patty and be declared a wimp for life. Company policy, folks. Also company policy? The Fries. Not only are they awesome in a sense that you're eating awesome salty fries that have that perfect french fry texture of "not too crunchy, but not too soggy," they give you a ton of them. Well, they give you the amount that's in your order, then they take another scoop of fries and stick them in your bag that all of the food is served in just because they love you.

Wait, it gets better. While you wait for your order, there are boxes of peanuts available for you to scoop out and eat. Yes, the kind you crack open and eat like the petting zoo squirrels you are. You gotta love those things, even when the food is ready about 10 seconds after you eat half of your stash.

Along with all those things, you have the burger. My Verdict: Surprisingly juicy for a double cheeseburger cooked well-done. Yes, it's probably the only minus I have for this place, but you honestly can't tell it's well done and hints of dryness are only detected if you force yourself to look for it. If in the event the burger is slightly dry, the toppings make up for it. The one I always get? Lettuce, onions (raw, of course), pickles, ketchup, and sauteed mushrooms. They also got the standards, like bacon, relish, tomatoes, mayo, jalapenos, and whatnot, but I don't really care about those (well, except maybe the bacon now).

Let's see what an entire meal looks like, shall we?



Again, incredibly sexy. Great burger meat, great toppings, awesome fries, and all the peanuts you can stomach. So, in short, WHY AREN'T YOU EATING THERE RIGHT NOW?!

This concludes my Summer Burger Challenge. The main quest, anyway. I went to a few more places around the summer, but I plan to assemble those in a future entry as I have yet to get to the places that were recommended to me by close friends, along with places that I've discovered in the past few weeks and have made a mental note to check out sometime.

Now that my last summer post is finally completed, it's on to October-centric entries! Be sure to read my coming fall entries, expected to be posted sometime in January at my current rate.