Various and Sundry

Tanks for the [Movie] Memories…

I greatly enjoy the expert-reviews-movies-depicting-the-area-of-their-expertise videos, especially when it’s clear the experts understand some creative license occurs in the best of times. So with that, and for the 10-year-old boy in me (and possibly you) here is one about tanks. My favorite part: he confirms what I always suspected since the first time I saw Kelly’s Heroes: every tanker wants to be Oddball.

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Various and Sundry

Wherefore Art Thou, Choco Taco?

Evidently, I wasn’t the only one who noticed that the Choco Taco was being discontinued. Indeed, there was a public mourning worthy of the McRib (more on that artificial food product later). So, in what one friend cynically thought was Unilever’s plan all along, they are reconsidering the discontinuation, as noted in Fortune. I don’t know what to believe, other than the fact that I believe I want to see more pictures of a giant…

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Various and Sundry

What would you do for a Choco Taco?

Continuing my Friday series on the origins of various food items, I was all ready to delve into the history of the Choco Taco, possibly the best ice cream-based mimicry of Mexican cuisine. Jason Cohen’s article for Eater does a great job capturing the unique, American mass-produced mystique of the Choco Taco. And now, this week, we learn that Klondike may have people do many things for its bars, but it won’t be standing by…

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Raves Various and Sundry

Stargate’s Staying Power… or 25 Years of Kawoosh

On this date in 1997, the TV show Stargate SG-1 premiered. To this day, 25 years later, that still elicits “wait, like that 90s film Stargate?” Indeed. The series soldiered on through 10 seasons and a couple wrap-up movies. Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe followed, and a legion of fans are still very much around for this lesser known, but very much beloved “star” franchise. Over at Inverse, Ryan Britt details some of the ways…

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Various and Sundry

Drunk and Coke

In last Friday’s post about the not-so-secret history of Fanta, the author of the Atlas Obscura article goes a little bit into the history of Coca-Cola itself (since that company begat Fanta). And got me thinking a bit more about the origins of Coke and cocaine and then I got to Drunk History, a series that, if you’re in the right frame of mind (or sheets to the wind) is tremendously fun. Happy Friday!

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Raves Various and Sundry

Stranger Things’ Subtitles are the Squelchiest

Maybe it’s the overwhelming melting pot of 80s that speaks to my Gen X self. Maybe it’s the fact that this past season has included the best Munsons since Logan (the quality and fate of characters named Munson throughout media is a post for another time). In any case, I’ve very much enjoyed the latest installments of Stranger Things, what we were almost certain was the last season, but… it’s not. So many fun touches…

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Various and Sundry

Those Wacky Theater People: Sweeney Hamilton Edition

This past weekend, seeing as it was Independence Day and all, I had an opportunity to introduce my sister to what comfortably remains one of my favorite musicals: Hamilton. Little did I know that the cast once did a version of Hamilton’s opening number as if they were the musical Sweeney Todd, another one of my favorites. Of course, given the hijinks (and shenanigans and tomfoolery) are endemic among theater folk, so I suppose I…

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