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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Writing

A Lot More Q&A with Rod Serling

After watching the Rod Serling video compilation back in July, I’ve gone down a modest Rod Serling rabbit hole looking for other videos and talks and interviews he’s given. As you might imagine, YouTube does provide. This nearly hour-long entry is essentially a long question-answer session from UCLA circa 1971. As with many of the other videos I’ve come across, many of his answers and references are very topical to 1971, so be warned that…

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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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Acting Raves

“You could be a David Warner!”

The indefatigable actor David Warner has died at the age of 80. You can read remembrances, obituaries, and appreciations from: BBC (as always, they give a good overview of his career) The Guardian (which also has a really nice photo retrospective) Deadline Hollywood Reporter Radio Times iTV ComicBook.com CinemaBlend While plenty of the headlines mention The Omen and Titanic, many of my generation were first introduced to him as the scene-stealing Evil One in Time…

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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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Producing Writing

The Showrunner Role in Transition

Thinking of Monday’s post regarding Rod Serling, I’m continuing to read up about showrunners and industry trends in the wake of COVID. And if you’re wondering what a ‘showrunner’ of a TV show actually is, well, that’s changing too — as covered in this very long form article for Vice by Katharine Trendacosta. Perhaps from my time studying anthropology and perhaps my dayjob role of analyzing business processes, but I love detailed articles like these…

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