Guy Visits Chi-Chi's

As previously reported, Chi-Chi's is back from the dead. Now "Sets, Streets & Eats" on youtube has visited the relaunch and filmed it. 

To get straight to the point, skip to 9 minutes.

Christmas Cola

A while back, I mentioned that I found Vanilla coke to be increasingly more difficult to obtain. Now Coca-Cola has released a new limited edition "Holiday Creamy Vanilla" flavor. Is this taking a "discontinued" item and making it a special event - a McRib situation? Well first off, Vanilla Coke still hasn't officially been discontinued though I continue to not see it around. Secondly, an online review claims this isn't Vanilla Coke re-packaged, it's distinctly different. I am both skeptical and keeping an open mind - I don't detect anything significantly different such that it warrants a new flavor but I acknowledge I could be in the wrong.

What I want to know is: what is Holiday Creamy Vanilla? This is not a thing. Do you remember spending time with friends and family in the Christmas Days of yesteryear, sitting around enjoying some Holiday Vanilla? What are we talking about? My mind goes immediately to Egg Nog but I don't think that's what they intend.

What is the real official soda of Christmastime? Who is the real hero?

While admittedly there is no such thing as a Christmas soda, I have one suggestion: Fentiman's Curiosity Cola. It tastes like Coke mostly - classic cola taste - but it adds a heightened cinnamon flavor that's just right. If you're looking for a soda for Christmas (quite a niche), that's my pick for the Official Soda of Christmas 2025.

You can get it on Amazon (not a sponsor).

Radiohead Sings Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Yeah, I don't know.

Obviously this AI, but Radiohead did perform "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" which you can find here. This was part of a livestream before there were livestreams. I was listening live, which is to say, I was in a buffering loop and getting 1 second of video every minute or so.

Downey Wrote That (2025)

 

I mentioned earlier that I was interested in seeing "Downey Wrote That" and now I have.

"Downey Wrote That" is a documentary about the comedy writer Jim Downey, who is most famous for being a long-time writer for SNL - including specifically writing for Norm Macdonald's Weekend Update - but was also head writer for Late Night with David Letterman in the early 80's. He's also particularly responsible for the most famous political sketches - the 2000 Presidential Debate is probably most noteworthy.

In short, you don't need my review. If you're interested in comedy writing and/or SNL, you'll enjoy this documentary. If not, you probably still will enjoy it but you probably have better things to do.

There is some of the regular "writing for SNL, is so stressful" blah blah blah, we get it. Fortunately, that's kept to a minimum. The movie impressively includes interviews with David Letterman, Lorne Michaels, Conan O'Brien, Adam Sandler, John Mulaney, Bob Odenkirk, Robert Smigel and the list goes on... it's crazy.

A small complaint is that in the "he played small parts in movies" section, they don't show his part in "Dirty Work" - a masterful performance. His part in "Billy Madison" is more iconic, of course, but show both.

My main complaint is that there are a number of montages where we see quick clips or shots of SNL sketches and I think the implication is that Downey wrote all of them but I can't be sure if it's that or they're just giving a flavor of the era. I would have loved to have a more comprehensive understanding of all the skits he wrote. Would I have been happy if this documentary was replaced by an Excel Spreadsheet? Yes, basically, but that's probably just me.

It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown

According to the internet there are over 50 Peanuts TV Specials and movies. Although I'm a big fan of Peanuts, I have made no attempt to watch them all. My impression is that they're mostly cash grabs by TV execs, rather than genuine creations from Charles Schulz.

Having said that, when I heard there was a Peanuts special that tried to blend animation with live-action footage, I had to see it for the bizarre "this can't be real" aspect of it.

I'm not going to say it's terrible... I'm not going to say it's terrible... For some reason it centers on Snoopy's brother Spike - despite the title clearly referring to Charlie Brown as if he's involved - and it's very boring. The key take away is that in this special almost nothing happens at all. I don't know who they thought this was going to appeal to. The main conflict is: a boyfriend signs his girlfriend up for an audition and she's mad because she wasn't consulted. Is that really going to draw in the kids? I'm an adult and can't care less. If you don't want to go to the audition, don't go. Nobody cares, get over yourself.

As I mentioned before, I would like to chalk this up as a cash grab with little input from Charles Schulz but that's not the case. He wrote and produced it. One of the things he most wanted people to know was that it was in production before "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" came out. In other words, the idea for mixing animation with live-action wasn't lifted. Noted. He also said of this film, "I wanted this to be my Citizen Kane, but it's not."

The Band - King Harvest (Has Surely Come)

 

In considering posting "King Harvest" (the alternate version) for this day, I thought, "Can I really post that video again?" I thought I had reposted it a million times, I felt I had. But a cursory search shows I've somehow never posted it. I don't get it.

It surely deserved to be posted every Fall.

What sets the alternate version apart is the guitar solo. The high note goes up to the line that separates music and noise and possibly crosses it. The puncturing ringing in the ears underscores the feeling of the song: pain, suffering, hopelessness. The playing is on the edge just as the man in the song is on the edge.