Popcorn in Bed - Rocky IV

 Yes, it's here: Rocky IV. It's Rocky vs. "Roid-rage Steroid Cheater Face."

I'm really looking forward to Rocky V. Rocky V has the reputation of being the worst one and almost killing the franchise. But I think it's underappreciated.

Month #3: France Snacks

 AHHHHHHH! The... French... snacks have always been known for their excellence. There is a California snack by Paul Masson...

This month's set of snacks is French Snacks. Before we get started, let's learn a little about France.

There are no stop signs in Paris - there are traffic lights and roundabouts but no stop signs.

In the 1970's a group of wallabies escaped from a zoo and still today you can find wallabies in the forests around Emance.

All French pharmacists are trained to identify mushrooms.

Every year at the French city of Dunkirk, 40,000 people attend the Dunkirk Carnival to have raw herring dumped on their heads.

1) Bret's Potato Chips Flavour Aioli

Review:

I'll be honest, I don't know what aioli is. I've heard the term a lot and I'd bet I've even eaten it but I don't know what it is. According to the internet, aioli is generally mayonnaise with garlic but in France, where it originated, it's garlic emulsified in oil.

These are mostly like American potato chips, they're even ruffled, but they are distinctly French. Firstly, they're much crunchier than American chips - I don't know the reason, just that they are. Secondly, there is a strong aioli flavor. 

I'm not crazy about these but I'm not crazy about any potato chips so... But they're pretty good.

2) Corn Snack - Cheesy Flavor

Review:

Judging by the photo on the package, they appear to be like Bugles. I don't know if you can tell that from the picture, I apologize, it came out blurry. But they're not exactly like Bugles, they're more square shaped though curvy. They do taste like other corn snacks you might have had, though. The texture and composition is like Munchos, there is a hint of corny Bugle-ness and there is also a hint of cheese.

There is only a hint of cheese... at first. As you go, the cheese grows and grows until it's the only flavor. And now that it's strong, I can tell you it's very French cheese, it's none of that faux-cheddar that we assume when we see "cheese" on a label. This is a more sophisticated cheese in one's fried corn snack.

Overall, I'd put these in the middle-of-the-road category. They are crunchy and salty and fulfill their minimum snack requirements but there's nothing really great about them.

3) Mini Strawberry BonBons Chewy Candy

Review:

The term "Bon Bon" has mystified me at various parts of my life. When I was little, my grandmother had chocolate-covered ice cream treats called "Bon Bons" but then that term was applied to things that were very different, this candy being the latest example.

But now it makes sense. "Bonbon" is the french word for candy but in the rest of the West usually refers to chocolate confections. The name derives from "bon" which means good. 

These are little pink spheres covered in powdered sugar. They're that artificial strawberry flavor and chewy but on the hard end of the chewy spectrum. They taste pretty exactly like strawberry Mentos so you can buy Mentos and get the same effect. Good though.

4) Sablés Pur Beurre

Review:

Yeah, that's right, I typed the e with an accent mark above it. So what? Big whoop, wanna fight about it?

These are shortbread cookies, obviously. They are very shortbready, very buttery, very good. The American equivalent of these is Pepperidge Farms Chessmen. Chessmen are one of my favorite cookies but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that these are better. Of all the snacks in all the reviews I've done these are contenders for the top snack.

What makes a good cookie is highly subjective, of course, but if you like Chessmen, try these and see which is better. These are worth typing the e with an accent. I regret nothing!

5) Truffles Bar by Mathez

Review:

As the wrapper suggests, there's no "bar" involved, it's 4 chocolate truffles.

How to describe chocolate that is the same as, and different from, every chocolate I've ever had? I will try.

It starts out as dry and powdery - as if you're eating clumped baking chocolate. But as it melts in your mouth it becomes smooth - ultra smooth, the smoothest chocolate I've ever had. And it's cocoaey like hot cocoa. It's amazing. Top marks, amazing chocolate.

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And that's it. We'll see you back here for Month #3.

Mr. T on Mr. Belvedere

 Mr. T on Mr. B?! How did I not see this sooner?! Well...

You may remember that one of the things I've complained about int the past is the confusion caused by imdb's categories for a person's credits. All the sitcoms and other fictional works are listed under the "Actor" category but Mr. T apparently plays himself on "Mr. Belvedere" so it's under the "Self" section. And that's where it got lost in the shuffle.

Mr. T is listed as being in the sixth episode of the sixth season, "Paper Mill." Wesley starts writing reports for other kids in return for money and favors but eventually learns a valuable lesson. Meanwhile, Mr. Belvedere has a stomach ulcer and struggles to modify his diet accordingly.

So I watched it... and it was a fairly interesting event for me because it just so happens I remembered this episode! I apparently was watching, and remember watching, it on November 11, 1989. Wow.

Hey, remember that other thing I've complained about is imdb's listings being inaccurate? Yeah, well here's Mr. T's "appearance" on the show.

The image quality ruins the obviousness a bit but in case you can't tell, it's Bob Uecker in a dream sequence. According to imdb this is the actual Mr. T, and don't you question it!

Popcorn in Bed - Glory

 

A woman who appreciates Glory, who can find?

The NBA on You-a-Tube

 

I just watched 149 games of the NBA playoffs on youtube and now I'm going to analyze and comment on the whole thing in excruciating detail...

Nah, I'm just kidding but this will be too long though.

Recently, youtube was suggesting old NBA playoff games to me and a thought occurred to me... I wondered could I go back and watch every Chicago Bulls playoff game of the "Jordan era" (loosely defining the Jordan era as 1991-1998). So I started, as all projects do, by creating an excel spreadsheet, listing all the games and all the rounds of the first year. Then I searched for, found and watched the first game on youtube. Then, I repeated the process for the second game, once that series was over, I went to the second round, once that year was over, I sent to the second year, and so forth. Once I got to 1992 I thought I might skip to a parallel track and watch all the Dream Team Olympic games. Once that was done, I figured I step backward and watch the rest of their games leading up to the Olympics.

I'm here to say that, having watched all of these games, every single one was available to watch on youtube. So if you have a particular NBA playoff game, series, team, era, whatever and you want to revisit it, I think you can. I've been wondering if this is true for other sports and also, for the NBA, how many eras. I don't know, all I know is I haven't failed on a single game yet.

Here are a few thoughts on the NBA in the 90's. It was a glorious era, first of all. But as glorious as basketball can be, Bill Walton as a color man makes it almost unwatchable. He's the worst. I thought about making an entire blog post about just this topic. It was a unique viewing experience when even Walton's fellow commentators started pointing out how stupid his statements were. You don't see that a lot. It was fascinating at first and then I just felt sorry for- for everyone. Bill Walton at the mic almost ruins basketball completely. Fortunately for me, he really only really affected one year (1997) but, depending on your favorite era, you may not be so lucky.

Another thing I was thinking was that the "NBA on NBC" theme is played before Every Single Commercial Break and sometimes going to commercial. It's one of the great themes of all-time but so many times per game for 149 games, I stopped really hearing it and it sort of lost all meaning.

I was thinking next I'm going to try watching the NCAA Basketball Tournament for particular years and teams. I also might try the 1996 Dream Team games.

Late Night - Larry "Bud" Melman at the Port Authority

 

Larry "Bud" Melman welcomes visitors at the Port Authority. You know it, you love it, you can't live without it. It's the classic that answers the age-old question, "What exactly do they teach at Radio & Television School?